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THE 


DEAD    TO\^^NS 


GEORGIA: 


CHARLES  C.  JONES,  Jr. 


I (>}{  iiKufs  hAv^  lys^mr-  coyTtKiri.\fj  pri-Y. 


Hell :  xiii.  14. 


SA.VANNAII : 

MOKXING  NEWS  STEAM  I'laXTlNG  HolSE. 
1S78. 


,^p 


TO 
GEORGE  WYMBERLEY-JONES  DeRENNE,  ESQ., 

OF   SAVANNAH, 

WHOSE   INTELLIGENT   RESEAUCH,   CULTIVATED   TASTE,   AND   AMPLE   FOBTIINE    HAVE   UEEN 

SO   GENEROUSLY   ENLISTED   IN   RESCUING   FROM  OBLIVION 

THE   EARLY   MEMORIES  OF  (4EOROIA, 

THESE  SKETCHES  ARE  RESPKCTKCLLY  AND  CORDIALLY  INSCRIBED. 


PREFATORY    NOTE. 


If  it  be  praiseworthy  in  their  descendants  to  erect  monuments  in 
honor  of  the  illustrious  dead,  and  to  perpetuate  in  history  the  lives  and 
acts  of  those  who  gave  shape  to  the  past  and  eocouragement  to  the 
future,  surely  it  will  not  be  deemed  inappropriate  to  gather  up  the 
fragmentary  memories-  of  towns  once  vital  and  influential  within  our 
borders,  but  now  covered  with  the  mantle  of  decay,  without  succession, 
and  wholly  silent  amid  the  voices  of  the  present. 

Against  the  miasmatic  influences  of  the  swamps,  Spanish  perils,  the 
hostility  of  the  Aborigines,  and  the  poverty  and  sometimes  narrow 
mindedness  of  the  Trust,  did  the  Colonists  grievously  struggle  in  as- 
serting their  dominion  over  the  untamed  lands  from  the  Savannah  to 
the  Alatamaha.  Nothing  indicates  so  surely  the  vicissitudes  and  the 
mistakes  encountered  during  that  primal  period  of  development,  as  the 
Dkai)  Towns  of  (Ieoikha.  From  each  comes  in  turn  the  whisper 
of  hope,  the  sound  of  the  battle  with  nature  for  life  and  comfort,  the 
sad  strain  of  disappointment,  and  then  the  silence  of  nothingness. 

Of  the  chosen  seats  and  characteristics  of  the  primitive  peoples  who 
inhabited  this  territory  prior  to  the  advent  of  the  European  we  have 
elsewhere  spoken.* 

(^f  the  indications  of  a  foreign  occupancy  antedating  the  colonization 
under  Oglethorpe,  such,  for  example,  as  those  observed  by  DeBrahmf 
on  Demetrius'  island,  and  a  few  others  which  might  be  mentioned, — 
we  refrain  from  writing,  because  the  theories  explanatory  of  their  origin, 
possession,  and  abandonment,  are  so  nebulous  as  to  seem  incapable  of 
satisfactory  solution. 

In  narrating  the  traditions  and  grouping  the  almost  obsolete  memo- 
ries of  these  deserted  villages  we  have  endeavored  to. revive  them,  as 
far  as  practicable,  in  the  language  of  those  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  their  transmission.  Charles  C.  Jones,  Jr. 

Augusta,  Georgia,  February  1st,  1878. 

*'•  Antiquities  of   the  Southeru  Indians,  particularly  of  the  Georgia  Tribes."      New 
York,"18T:^. 
t  History  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  pp.  29,  30.     Wormsloe,  1849. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

I.  OLD  AND  NEW  EBENEZER,       .       .       -       -  n 

II.  FREDEliICA, -  45 

III.  ABERCORN, 137 

IV.  SUNBURY, 141 

V.  HARDWICK, 224 

Yl.  PETERSBURG,  JACKSONBOROUGH,  &C.,    -       -  233 

VII.  MISCELLANEOUS  TOWNS,  PLANTATIONS,  &C.,  245 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


1.  PLAN  OF  NEW  EBENEZER. 

2.  PLAN  OF  FREDERICA. 

3.  PLAN  OF  SUNBURY. 

4.  PLAN  OF  FORT  MQRRIS. 

5.  OUTLINE  OF  HARDWICK. 


-f^^^^a^-O^if    ',,JcH* 


OLD,  AND  NEW  EBENEZER, 


During  the  four  years  coinineaciug  in  1729  and  ending 
i)i  1732,  more  than  thirty  thousand  Saltzburgers,  impelled 
by  the  fierce  persecutions  of  Leopold,  abandoned  their 
homes  in  the  broad  valley  of  the  Salza  and  sought  refuge 
in  Prussia,  Holland,  and  England,  where  their  past  suf- 
ferings and  present  wants  enlisted  substantial  sympathy 
and  relief  from  Protestant  communities.  Persuaded  by 
the  "Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Christian  Knowledge," 
and  acting  upon  the  invitation  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Colony  of  Georgia, — who  engaged  not  only  to  advance  the 
funds  necessary  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  journey  and 
purchase  the  requisite  sea-stores,  but  also  to  allot  to  each 
emigrant  on  his  arrival  in  Georgia  fifty  acres  of  land  in  fee, 
and  provisions  sufiicient  to  maintain  himself  and  family 
until  such  land  could  be  made  available  for  support, — 
forty-two  SaltzV)urgers,  with  their  wives  and  children, — 
numbering  in  all  seventy-eight  souls, — set  out  from  the 
town  of  Berchtolsgaden  and  its  vicinity  for  Rotterdam, 
whence  they  were  to  be  transported  free  of  charge  to 
Dover,  England.  At  Rotterdam  they  were  joined  by  their 
chosen  religious  teachers,  the  Reverend  Jolm  Martin  Bol- 
zius  and  the  Reverend  Israel  Christian  Gronau.  The  oath 
of  loyality  having  been  administered  to  them  at  Dover  by 
the   Trustees,    these    pious,   industrious,    and    honest    emi- 


12  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

grants,  on  the  28th  of  December,  1733,  set  sail  in  the  ship 
Purisburg  and,  after  a  tedious  and  perilous  passage,  reached 
Charlestovvn,  South  Carolina,  in  safety.  Mr.  Oglethorpe, 
chancing  to  be  there  at  the  time,  arranged  that  the  Saltz- 
burgers  should  proceed  without  delay  to  Savannah.  The 
Savannah  river  was  entered  by  them  on  the  10th  of  March, 
1734.  It  was  lieminiscere  Sunday,  according  to  the  Lutheran 
calendar; — the  gospel  of  the  day  being  "Our  Blessed  Sa- 
viour came  to  the  Borders  of  the  Heathen  after  He  had 
been  persecuted  in  His  own  Country."  "Lying  in  fine 
and  calm  weather,  under  the  Shore  of  our  beloved  Georgia, 
where  we  heard  the  Birds  sing  melodiously,  every  Body 
in  the  ship  was  joyful. "  So  wrote  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Bolzius,  the  faithful  attendant  and  spiritual  guide  of  this 
Protestant  band.  He  tells  us  also,  that  two  days  after- 
wards, when  the  ship  arrived  at  the  place  of  landing,  "  al- 
most all  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Savannah  were 
gather'd  together ;  they  fired  off  some  Cannons,  and  cried 
Huzzah!  which  was  answer'd  by  our  Sailors,  and  othe^^ 
English  People  in  our  Ship  in  the  same  manner.  Some 
of  us  were  immediately  fetch'd  on  Shore  in  a  Boat,  and 
carried  about  the  City,  into  the  woods,  and  the  new  Garden 
belonging  to  the  Trustees.  In  the  meantime  a  very  good 
Dinner  was  prepared  for  us  :  And  the  Saltzburgers,  who  had 
yet  fresh  Meat  in  the  Ship,  when  they  came  on  shore, 
they  got  very  good  and  wholesome  English  strong  Beer. 
And  besides  the  Inhabitants  shewing  them  a  great  deal  of 
Kindness,  and  the  Country  pleasing  them,  they  were  full 
of  Joy  and  praised  God  for  it."* 

Leaving  his  people  comfortably  located  in  tents,  and  in 
the  hospitable  care  of  the  Colonists  at  Savannah,  Mr.  Von 

*  Extract  of  the  Journals  of  Mr.  Commissary  VouBeck,  &c.,  p.  32.    Loudon,  1734. 


OLD,   AND   NEW  EBENEZER.  13 

Eeck  set  out  on  horseback  with  Mr.  Oglethorpe  to  take  a 
view  of  the  country  and  select  a  spot  where  the  Saltz- 
burgers  might  form  their  settlement.  At  nine  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  17th  of  March  they  reached  the  place 
designated  as  the  future  home  of  the  emigrants.  It  was 
about  four  miles  below  the  present  town  of  Springfield,  in 
Effingham  County,  sterile  and  unattractive.  To  the  eye  of 
the  Commissary,  however,  tired  of  the  sea  and  weary  of 
persecutions,  it  appeared  a  blessed  spot,  redolent  of  sweet 
hope,  bright  promise,  and  charming  repose.  Hear  his  de- 
scription:  "The  Lands  are  inclosed  between  two  Rivers, 
which  fall  into  the  Savannah.  The  Saltzhurg  Town  is  to  be 
built  near  the  largest,  which  is  called  Ebenezer,"^  in  Remem- 
brance that  God  has  brought  us  hither ;  and  is  navigable, 
being  twelve  Foot  deep.  A  little  Rivulet,  whose  Water  is 
as  clear  as  Crystal,  glides  by  the  Town ;  another  runs 
through  it,  and  both  fall  into  the  Ebenezer.  The  Woods 
here  are  not  so  thick  as  in  other  Places.  The  sweet  Zephyrs 
preserve  a  dehcious  coolness  notwithstanding  the  scorching 
Beams  of  the  Sun.  There  are  very  fine  Meadows,  in  which 
a  great  Quantity  of  Hay  might  be  made  with  very  little 
Pains :  there  are  also  Hillocks,  very  fit  for  Vines.  The 
Cedar,  Walnut,  Pine,  Cypress  and  Oak  make  the  greatest 
part  of  the  Woods.  There  is  found  in  them  a  great  Quantity 
of  Myrtle  Trees  out  of  which  they  extract,  by  boiling 
the  Berries,  a  green  Wax,  very  proper  to  make  Candles 
with.  There  is  much  Sassafras,  and  a  great  Quantity  of 
those  Herbs  of  which  Indigo  is  made,  and  Abundance  of 
China  Roots.  The  Earth  is  so  fertile  that  it  will  bring  forth 
anything  that  can  be  sown  or  planted  in  it ;  whether  Fruits, 
Herbs,  or  Trees.     There  are  wild  Vines,  which  run  up  to 

*  Tlie  Stone  of  Help. 


14  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

the  Tops  of  the  tallest  Trees  ;  and  the  Country  is  so  good 
that  one  may  ride  full  gallop  20  or  30  miles  an  end.  As 
to  Game,  here  are  Eagles,  Wild-Turkies,  Roe-Bucks,  Wild- 
Goats,  Stags,  Wild-Cows,  Horses,  Hares,  Partridges,  and 
Buffaloes."*  Upon  the  return  of  Mr.  Oglethorpe  and  the 
Commissary  to  Savannah,  nine  able  bodied  Saltzburgers 
were  immediately  dispatched,  by  the  way  of  Abercorn,  to 
Ebenezer,  to  cut  down  trees  and  erect  shelters  for  the 
Colonists.  On  the  7th  of  April  the  rest  of  the  emigrants 
arrived,  and,  with  the  blessing  of  the  good  Mr.  Bolzius, 
entered  at  once  upon  the  task  of  clearing  land,  constructing 
bridges,  building  shanties,  and  preparing  a  road-way  to 
Abercorn.  Wild  honey  found  in  a  hollow  tree  greatly  re- 
freshed them,  and  parrots  and  patridges  made  them  "  a  very 
good  dish."  Upon  the  sandy  soil  they  fixed  their  hopes  for 
a  generous  yield  of  peas  and  potatoes.  To  the  "  black,  fat, 
and  heavy"  land  they  looked  for  all  sorts  of  corn  ;  and  from 
the  clayey  soil  they  purposed  manufacturing  bricks  and 
earthen  ware.  On  the  1st  of  May  lots  were  drawn  upon 
which  houses  were  to  be  erected  in  the  town  of  Ebenezer. 
The  day  following,  the  hearts  of  the  people  were  rejoiced  by 
the  coming  of  ten  cows  and  calves, — sent  as  a  present  from 
the  Magistrates  of  Savannah  in  obedience  to  Mr.  Ogle- 
thorpe's order.  Ten  casks  "  full  of  all  Sorts  of  Seeds  "  ar- 
riving from  Savannah,  set  these  pious  peoples  to  praising 
God  for  all  His  loving  kindnesses.  Commiserating  their 
poverty,  the  Indians  gave  them  deer,  and  their  English 
neighbors  taught  them  how  to  brew  a  sort  of  beer  made  of 
molasses,  sassafras,  and  pine  tops.  Poor  Lackner  dying,  by 
common  consent  the  little  money  he  left  was  made  the 
**•  Beginning  of  a  Box  for  the  Poor."     The  repeated  thunder- 

*  An  Extract  of  the  Journals  of  Mr.  Commissary  VonReck,  &c.,  pp.  1(>,  18.    London,  1734. 


OLD,    AND    NEW   EBENEZER.  iS 

storms  and  hard  rains  penetrated  through  the  rude  huts 
and  greatly  incommoded  the  settlers.  The  water  disagreed 
with  them,  causmg  serious  affections  of  the  l)owels,  until 
they  found  a  brook,  springing  from  a  little  hill,  which  proved 
both  palatable  and  wholesome.  By  appointment,  Monday 
the  13tli  of  May  was  o])served  by  the  congregation  as  a 
season  of  Thanksgiving. 

Depending  entirely  upon  the  charity  of  the  Trustees  for 
supplies  of  all  sorts,  and  having  but  few  mechanics  among 
them,  these  Saltzburgers  labored  under  great  disadvantages 
in  building  their  little  town  in  the  depths  of  the  woods,  and 
surrounding  themselves  with  fields  and  gardens.  Patient 
of  toil,  however,  aud  accustomed  to  work,  they  cut  and 
delved  away,  day  by  day,  rejoicing  in  their  freedom,  blessing 
the  Giver  of  all  good  for  His  mercies,  and  observing  the 
rules  of  honesty,  morality,  and  piety,  for  which  their  sect 
had  been  so  long  distinguished.  Communication  with  Sa- 
vannah was  maintained  by  way  of  Abercorn;  to  which 
]>lace  supplies  were  transported  by  water. 

Early  in  1735  the  settlement  was  materially  strengthened 
and  encouraged  by  the  arrival  of  fifty-seven  more  emigrants 
under  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Vatt.  Among  the  new-comers 
were  several  mechanics  whose  knowledge,  industry,  and 
skill  were  at  once  applied  to  hewing  timber,  splitting  shin- 
gles, and  sawing  boards,  to  the  manifest  improvement  of  the 
dwellings  in  Ebenezer. 

About  a  year  afterwards  occurred  what  is  known  as  the 
(jreat  emharcatlon.  Including  some  eighty  Germans  from 
the  city  of  Ratisbon,  under  the  control  of  Baron  VonReck 
and  Captain  Hermsdorf,  twenty-seven  Moravians  under  the 
care  of  the  Rev'd  David  Nitschman,  the  Rev'd  John  and 
Charles  Wesley,  and  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Ingham, — Missionaries  to 


16  THE  DEAD  T^WNS  OF  GEOKGIA. 

the  Indians, — and  a  number  of  poor  English  families,  this 
accession  to  the  Colony  of  Georgia  aggregated  some  two 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  persons,  of  whom  two  hundred 
and  two  were  conveyed  upon  the  Trust's  account.  Francis 
Moore  was  appointed  keeper  of  the  stores.  Oglethorpe  in 
person  accompanied  the  Colonists,  and  exercised  a  fatherly 
care  over  them  during  the  voyage.  They  were  transported 
in  the  Symond  of  220  tons, — Capt.  Joseph  Cornish, — and 
the  London  Merchant,  of  like  burthen,  —  Capt.  John 
Thomas."^  During  the  voyage  the  German  Dissenters  "  sung 
psalms  and  served  God  in  their  own  way."  Turnips,  carrots, 
potatoes,  and  onions,  issued  with  the  salt  provisions,  pre- 
vented scurvy.  In  order  to  promote  comfort  and  good 
order,  the  ships  had  been  divided  into  cabins,  with  gang- 
ways between  them,  in  which  the  emigrants  were  disposed 
according  to  families.  The  single  men  were  located  by 
themselves.  Weather  permitting,  the  vessels  were  cleaned 
between  decks  and  washed  with  vinegar  to  keep  them  swee  t 
Constables  were  appointed  "to  prevent  any  disorders,"  and 
so  admirably  was  discipline  preserved,  that  there  was  no 
occasion  for  punishment  except  in  the  case  of  a  boy,  "  who 
was  whipped  for  stealing  of  turnips."  The  men  were 
exercised  with  small  arms,  and  instructed  by  Mr.  Oglethorpe 
in  the  duties  which  would  devolve  upon  them  as  free-holders 
in  the  new  settlement.  To  the  women  were  given  thread, 
worsted,  and  knitting  needles ;  and  they  were  required  to 
employ  "  their  leisure  time  in  making  Stockings  and  Caps 
for  their  Family,  or  in  mending  their  Cloaths  and  Linnen." 
In  this  sensible  way  were  matters  ordered  on  these  emigi^ant 
ships,  and  the  colonists,  during  a  protracted  voyage,  pre- 
pared for  lives  of  industry  in  their  new  homes. 

*  Moore's  Voyage  to  Georgia,  p.  11.    London,  1744. 


OLD,   AND  NEW  EBENEZEE.  17 

On  the  5tli  of  February,  1736,  these  ships,  with  the  first  of 
the  flood,  were  carried  over  Tybee  bar  and  found  safe 
anchorage  within.  The  emigrants  were  temporarily  landed 
on  Peeper  island,  where  they  dug  a  well  and  washed  their 
clothes.  It  was  Mr.  Oglethorpe's  purpose  to  send  most  of 
these  Saltzburgers  to  Frederic  a  that  they  might  assist  in  the 
development  of  that  town  and  the  construction  of  its  fortifi- 
cations. Desiring  the  benefit  of  their  ministers,  not  wishing 
to  divide  their  congregation,  and  being  reluctant  to  go  to 
the  Southward  where  "  they  apprehended  blows," — fighting 
being  "against  their  rehgion," — they  persuaded  Mr.  Ogle- 
thorpe to  permit  them  to  join  their  countrymen  at  Ebenezer, 
whitheR  they  accordingly  went  some  days  afterwards  and 
were  heartily  welcomed.  It  will  be  remembered,  however, 
that  Captain  Hermsdorf,  with  his  little  company,  assured 
Mr.  Oglethorpe  "that  he  would  never  forsake  him,  but  serve 
with  the  English  to  the  last."  His  offer  was  accepted,  and 
on  the  16th  he  set  out  with  Mr.  Oglethorpe  for  Frederica. 

By  this  second  accession  the  population  of  Ebenezer  was 
increased  so  that  it  numbered  in  all  some  two  hundred  souls. 
Contentment  and  prosperity  did  not  obtain  in  the  town. 
In  the  fertility  of  the  soil  the  inhabitants  had  encountered 
disappointment.  Much  sickness  prevailed,  and  they  were 
oppressed  with  the  isolated  character  of  their  location.  The 
creek  upon  which  the  town  was  situated  was  uncertain  in 
volume,  serpentine,  and  difficult  of  navigation.  Although 
the  distance  from  Old  Ebenezer  to  the  Savannah  river  by 
land  did  not  exceed  six  mile^,  by  following  this,  the  only 
outlet  by  water,  twenty-five  miles  must  be  passed  before 
its  confluence  could  be  reached.^-' 

Moved  by  these  and  other  depressing  considerations,  the 

*  Strobels'  Saltzburgers  and  their  Descendants,  p,  87.    Baltimore,  1855, 
3 


1^  THii  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

Reverend  Messrs.  Bolzius  and  Gronau  visited  Savannah 
at  the  instance  of  their  flock,  and  conferred  with  Mr.  Ogle- 
thorpe as  to  the  propriety  of  changing  the  location  of  the 
town.  Moore  says  the  Saltzburgers  at  Ebenezer  were  so 
discontented  that  they  "  demanded  to  leave  their  old  Town, 
and  to  settle  upon  the  Lands  which  the  Indians  had  reserved 
for  their  own  Use."^ 

Having  patiently  listened  to  tjie  request,  Mr.  Oglethorpe, 
on  the  9th  of  February,  1736,  set  out  with  the  Saltzburger 
ministers  and  several  gentlemen  for  Ebenezer,  to  make  a 
personal  inspection  of  the  situation  and  satisfy  himself  with 
regard  to  the  expediency  of  the  removal.  He  was  received 
with  every  mark  of  consideration,  and  proceeded  at  once 
to  consider  the  causes  which  induced  the  inhabitants  to 
desire  a  change.  Admitting  that  the  existing  "dissatis- 
faction was  not  groundless,  and  that  there  were  many  em- 
barrassments connected  with  their  situation,"  he  neverthe- 
less endeavored  to  dissuade  them  from  their  purpose  by 
reminding  them  that  the  labor  already  expended  in  clearing 
their  lands,  building  houses,  and  constructing  roads  would, 
upon  removal,  be  almost  wholly  lost.  The  hardships  in- 
cident upon  forming  an  entirely  new  settlement  were  urged 
upon  their  serious  consideration.  He  also  assured  them 
that  in  clearing  the  forests,  and  in  bringing  the  lands  on 
the  bank  of  the  Savannah  river  under  cultivation  they  would 
encounter  the  same  diseases  which  afflicted  them  in  their 
present  location.  He  concluded,  however,  by  assuring  them 
that  if  they  were  resolved  upon  making  the  change  he  would 
not  forbid  it,  but  would  assist  them,  as  far  as  practicable, 
in  compassing  their  design. 

*  Voyage  to  Georgia,  &c.,  p.  23.    London,  1741. 

In  reporting  this  change  of  location   to  the  Trustees,    Mr.  Oglethorpe,    on  the  l3th 


10 


After  this  conference,  and  upon  Mr.  Oglethorpe's  return 
to  Savannah,  the  question  of  a  change  of  location  was  again 
considered  by  the  Saltzburgers,  who  resolved  among  them- 
selves that  a  removal  was  essential  to  the  prosperity  of  their 
colony.'^  Acting  upon  this  determination  the  community, 
without  delay,  set  about  migrating  to  the  site  selected  for 
the  new  town.  This  was  on  a  high  ridge,  near  the  Savannah 
river,  called  "Ked  Bluff"  from  the  peculiar  color  of  the 
soil.  It  received  the  name  of  New  Ebenezer ;  and,  to  the 
simple-minded  Germans,  oppressed  by  poverty  and  sad- 
dened by  the  disappointments  of  the  past,  seemed  to  offer 
future  happiness  and  much  coveted  prosperity.  The  labor 
of  removal  appears  to  have  been  compassed  within  less 
than  two  years.  In  June,  1738,  Old  Ebenezer  ^  had  de- 
generated into  a  cow-pen,  where  Joseph  Barker  resided 
and  "had  the  care  of  the  Trust's  Cattle."  WilHam  Stephens 
gives  us  a  pitiable  view  of  the  abandoned  spot  when  he  vis- 


of  February,  wrote  as  follows :  "  The  people  at  Ebenezer  are  very  discontented  and 
Mr.  VouReck  and  they  that  come  with  him.  refuse  to  settle  to  the  Southward,  I 
was  forced  to  go  to  Ebenezer  to  quiet  things  there  and  have  taken  all  the  proceed- 
ings in  writing.  Finding  the  people  were  only  ignorant  and  obstinate,  but  without 
any  ill  intention,  I  consented  to  the  changing  of  their  Town.  They  leave  a  sweet 
place  where  they  had  made  great  improvements,  to  go  into  a   wood."* 

*  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  iit,  p.  13.    Savannah,  1873. 
Compare  Harris'  Biographical  Memorials  of  Oglethorpe,  pp.  130,  132.    Boston,  ISil. 
Wright's  Memoir  of  Oglethorpe,  p.  113.    London,  18G7. 

*  Strobel's  Saltzburgers  and  their  Descendants,  p.  89.     Baltimore,   1855. 


IT  Reverend  Mr.  John  We.sley,  writing  in  1737,  records  in  his  Journal  the  following 
description  of  this  abandoned  settlement :  "  Old  Ebenezer,  where  the  SaUzburghers  settled 
at  first,  lies  twenty-five  miles  west  of  Savannali.  A  small  Creek  runs  by  the  Town, 
down  to  the  River,  and  many  Brooks  run  between  the  little  Hills  :  But  the  soil  is  a 
hungry,  barren  sand ;  and  upon  any  sudden  Shower,  the  Brooks  rise  several  Feet 
perpendicular,  and  overflow  whatever  is  near  them.  Since  the  SaUzburghers  remov'd. 
two  EngUsh  Families  have  been  placed  there  ;  but  these  too  say.  That  the  Land  is  good 
for  nothing ;  and  that  the  Creek  is  of  little  Use  ;  it  being  by  Water  twenty  miles  to  the  River  ;  and 
the  Water  generally  so  law  in  Summer4ime,  that  a  Boat  cannot  come  within  six  or  sevem  miles  of 
Oie  Town."* 


t=An  Extract  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Wesley's  Journal,  kc,  £c.,  pp.  59,  60.    Bristol,  n.  d. 


20  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

ited  it  on  the  26tli  of  that  month: — Indian  traders,  returning 
from  Savannah,  lodging  for  the  night  with  Barker,  who  was 
unable  to  give  due  account  of  the  cattle  under  his  charge, 
and  a  servant,  Sommers,  moving  about  with  "  the  Sni all- 
Pox  out  full  upon  him."*  Thus  early  did  "  Old  Ebenezer  " 
take  its  silent  place  among  the  lost  towns  of  Georgia.  Its 
life  of  trials  and  sorrow,  of  ill-founded  hope  and  sure  dis- 
appointment, was  measured  by  scarcely  more  than  two 
years,  and  its  frail  memories  were  speedily  lost  amid  the 
sighs  and  the  shadows  of  the  monotonous  pines  which- 
environed   the  place. 

The  situation  of  the  new  Town,  Mr.  Strobel  says,  was  quite 
romantic.  "On  the  east  lay  the  Savannah  with  its  broad, 
smooth  surface  and  its  every  varying  and  beautiful  scenery. 
On  the  south  was  a  stream,  then  called  Little  Creek,  but 
now  known  as  Lockner's  Creek,  and  a  large  lake  called 
'  Neidlinger's  Sea ;'  while  to  the  north,  not  very  distant 
from  the  the  town,  was  to  be  seen  their  old  acquaintance, 
Ebenezer  Creek,  sluggishly  winding  its  way  to  mingle  with 
the  waters  of  the  Savannah.  The  surrounding  country  was 
gently  undulating  and  covered  with  a  fine  growth  of  forest 
trees,  while  the  jessamine,  the  woodbine  and  the  beautiful 
azalia,  with  its  variety  of  gaudy  colors,  added  a  peculiar 
richness  to  the  picturesque  scene.  But  unfortunately  for 
the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  town,  it  was  surrounded  on 

♦Journal  of  the  Proceedings  in  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  226,  'I'll.    London,  1T4'2. 


In  1740  this  Cow-Pen  was  still  in  existence  at  Old  Ebenezer,  the  Trustees  having  a 
great  number  of  cattle  there.  "But,"  continues  the  narrative,  " they  were  much 
neglected,  there  not  being  Horses  or  Men  sufficient  to  drive  up  the  young  and  out- 
lying cattle,"* 

*A  State  of  the  Province  attested  upon  Oath  in  the  Court  of  Savannah,  November 
10,  1740,  p.  9.    London,  1742. 

Compare  An  Impartial  Enquiry  into  the  State  and  Utility  of  the  Province  of  Geor- 
gia, p.  48.    London,  1741.    • 

Harris'  Complete  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  &c.,  vol.  ii,  p.  337.    London,  1748. 


OLD,   AND   NEW  EBENEZER.  21 

three  sides  by  low  swamps  which  were  subject  to  periodical 
inundation,  and  consequently  generated  a  poisonous  miasma 
prejudical  to  the  health  of   the  inhabitants."* 

The  plan  adopted  in  laying  out  the  town  was  prescribed 
by  General  Oglethorpe,  and  closely  resembles  that  of 
Savannah  ; — the  size  of  the  lots  and  the  width  of  the  streets 
and  lanes  being  in  each  case  quite  similar.  To  John  Gerar, 
William  DeBrahm,  his  Majesty's  Surveyor  General  for  the 
Southern  District  of  North  Ameri<'a,  who  in  1757  erected 
a  fort  at  Ebenezer,  are  we  indebted  for  an  accurate  plan 
of  that  town.t  As  the  village  increased,  this  plan  was  ex- 
tended ; — its  distinctive  characteristics  being  retained. 
From  contemporaneous  notices  we  learn  that  New  Ebenezer, 
within  a  short  time  after  its  settlement,  gave  manifest  token 
of  substantial  growth  and  prosperity.  The  houses  there 
erected  were  larger  and  more  comfortable  than  those  which 
had  been  built  in  the  old  town.  Gardens  and  farms  were 
cleared,  enclosed,  and  brought  under  creditable  cultivation, 
and  the  sedate,  religious  inhabitants  enjoyed  the  fruits  of 
their  industry  and  economy. 

Funds  received  from  Germany  for  that  purpose  were 
employed  in  the  erection  of  an  Orphan  House,  in  which, 
for  lack  of  a  Church,  the  community  worshipped  for  several 
years. 

We  presume  the  account  of  the  condition  of  Ebenezer 
in  1738-9,  furnished  by  Benjamin  Martyn,:[:  is  as  interesting 
and  reliable  as  any  that  can  be  suggested.  It  is  as  follows  : 
"  Fifteen  miles  from  Purysburg  on  the  Georgia  side,  is  Ebe- 
nezer, where  the  Saltzburghers  are  situated ;  their  Houses  are 

*  Strobel's  Saltzburgera  and  their  Descendants,  p.  91.    Baltimore,    1855. 
t  History  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  &c.,  Plan  facing  p.  24.    Wormsloe,  1849. 
+  An  Impartial  Enquiry  into  the  State  and  Utility  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  p.   47. 
London,  1741, 


22  THE  DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

neat,  and  regularly  set  out  in  Streets,  and  the  whole 
Qj^conomy  of  their  town,  under  the  Influence  of  their  Min- 
isters, Mess.  Bolzius  and  Gronau,  is  very  exemplary.  For 
the  Benefit  of  their  Milch  Cattle,  a  Herdsman  is  appointed 
to  attend  them  in  the  Woods  all  the  Day,  and  bring  them 
Home  in  the  Evening.  Their  Stock  of  out-lying  Cattle  is 
also  under  the  Care  of  two  other  Herdsmen,  who  attend 
them  in  their  Feeding  in  the  Day,  and  drive  them  into 
Cow-Pens  at  night.  This  secures  the  Owners  from  any 
Loss,  and  the  Herdsmen  are  paid  by  a  small  Contribution 
among  the  People.  These  are  very  industrious,  and  subsist 
comfortably  by  their  Labour.  Though  there  is  no  regular 
Court  of  Justice,  as  they  live  in  Sobriety,  they  maintain 
great  Order  and  Decency.  In  case  of  any  Differences,  the 
Minister  calls  three  or  four  of  the  most  prudent  Elders 
together,  who  in  a  summary  Way  hear  and  determine  as 
they  think  just,  and  the  Parties  always  acquiesce  with  Con- 
tent in  their  Judgment.  They  are  very  regular  in  their 
public  Worship,  which    is   on   Week-Days  in  the  Evening 

Another  contemporaneous  account  is  almost  identical ;  "On  the  Georgia  side  [of  the 
Savannah  river],  twelve  miles  from  Purysburg,  is  the  Town  of  Ebenezer,  which  thrives 
very  much  ;  there  are  very  good  Houses  built  for  each  of  the  Ministers,  and  an 
Orphan  House  ;  and  they  have  partly  framed  Houses  and  partly  Huts,  neatly  built, 
and  formed  into  regular  streets  ;  they  have  a  great  deal  of  Cattle  and  Corn-Ground, 
so  that  they  sell  Provisions  at  Savannah;  for  they  raise  niuoh  more  than  they  can 
consume."* 


*A  State  of  the  Province  of  Georgia  attested  upon  Oath  in  the  Court  of  Savauuah, 
November  10,  1740,  p.  5,  London,  17i2.  See  also  idem,  pp.  29,  31.  "  An  Impartial 
Enquiry  into  the  State  and  Utility  of  the  Province  of   Georgia,"  p.  13.    London,  1741. 

Compare  Harris'  Complete  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  &c.,  vol.  ii,  p.  337. 
London,  1748. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  John  Wesley's  description  is  as  follows:  "New  Ebenezer,  to  which  the 
Saltzburghers  removed  in  March,  1736,  lies  six  Miles  Eastward  from  the  Old.  on  a  high  bluff, 
near  the  Savannah  River  Here  are  some  Tracts  of  Fruitful  Land,  tho'  the  greatest 
Part  of  that  adjoining  to  the  Town,  is  Pine-barren-.  The  Huts,  60  in  number,  are  neatly 
and  regularly  built ;  the  little  Piece  of  Ground  allotted  to  each  for  a  Garden,  is  every- 
where put  to  the  best  Use,  no  spot  being  left  unplanted.  Nay,  even  one  of  the  main 
Streets,  being  one  more  than  was  as  yet  wanted,  bore  them  this  year  a  crop  of  Indian 
Com." 

An  Extract  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Wesley's  Journal,  kc,  p.  60.      Bristol,  n.  d. 


OLD,   ANi)  NEW   EBENEZEIi.  ^3 

after  their  Work ;  and  in  the  Forenoon  and  Evening  on 
Sundays.  They  have  built  a  large  and  convenient  House  for 
the  Reception  of  Orphans,  and  other  poor  Children,  who 
are  maintained  by  Benefactions  among  the  People,  are 
well  taken  Care  of  and  taught  to  work  according  as  their 
Age  and  Ability  will  permit.  The  Number  computed  by  Mr. 
Boh'ius  in  June,  1738,  whereof  his  Congregation  consisted, 
was  one  hundred  forty-six,  and  some  more  have  since 
been  settled  among  them.  They  are  all  in  general  so  well 
pleased  with  their  condition,  that  not  one  of  their  People 
has  abandoned  the  Settlement." 

General  Oglethorpe  received  a  letter,  dated  Ebenezer, 
March  13,  1739,  signed  by  forty-nine  men  of  the  Saltzbur- 
gers  and  verified  by  their  Ministers,  in  which  they  assured 
him  that  they  were  well  settled  and  pleased  with  the  climate 
and  condition  of  the  country  ;  that  although  the  season  was 
hotter  than  that  of  their  native  land,  having  become  ac- 
customed to  it,  they  found  it  tolerable  and  convenient  for 
working  people  ;  and  that  their  custom  was  to  commence 
their  out-door  labor  early  in  the  morning  and  continue  it 
until  ten  o'clock  ;  resuming  it  again  from  three  in  the  after- 
noon until  sun-set.  During  the  heated  term  of  mid-day, 
matters  within  their  houses  engaged  their  attention.  The 
General  was  also  informed  that  they  had  practically  de- 
monstrated the  falsity  of  the  tale  told  them  on  their  arrival 
that  rice  could  be  cultivated  only  by  negroes.  *'  We  laugh 
at  such  a  Talking,"^so  they  wrote,  "seeing  that  several 
People  of  us  have  had,  in  last  Harvest,  a  greater  Crop  of 
Rice  than  they  wanted  for  their  own  Consumption.  Of 
Corn,  Pease,  Potatoes,  Pumpkins,  Cabbage,  <fec.,  we  had 
such  a  good  Quantity  that  many  Bushels  are  sold,  and  much 
was  spent  in  feeding  Cows,  Calves  and  Hogs."     The  letter 


u 


THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 


concludes  with  an  earnest  petition  that  negroes  should  be 
excluded  from  their  town  and  neighborhood,  alleging  as  a 
reason  that  their  houses  and  gardens  would  be  robbed  by 
them,  and  that,  "besides  other  great  inconveniences,  white 
people  were  in  danger  of  life  from  them."^ 

Of  humble  origin  and  moderate  education,  of  primitive 
habits,  accustomed  to  labor,  free  from  covetousness  and 
ambition,  temperate,  industrious,  frugal  and  orderly,  soli- 
citous for  the  education  of  their  ciiildren  and  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  needy  and  the  orphan,  meddling  not  in  the 
affairs  of  their  neighbors,  acknowledging  allegiance  to  the 
Trustees  and  the  King  of  England,  maintaining  direct 
connection  with  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Germany,  and  sub- 
mitting without  question  to  the  decisions  of  their  ministers 
and  elders  in  all  matters,  whether  of  a  civil  or  ecclesiastical 
nature,  engaging  in  no  pursuits  save  of  an  agricultural  or 
a  mechanical  character,  and  little  given  either  to  excite- 
ment or  wandering,  these  Saltzburgers  for  years  preserved 
the  integrity  of  their  community  and  their  religion,  and 
secured  for  themselves  a  comfortable  existence.  As  early 
as  1738  the  Saltzburgers  at  Ebenezer  made  some  limited 
experiment  in  growing  cotton  and  were  much  encouraged ; — 
the  yield  being  abundant,  and  of  an  excellent  quality.  The 
Trustees,  however,  having  fixed  their  hopes  upon  silk  and 
wine,  the  \cultivation  of  this  plant  was  not  countenanced,  t 

It  was  estimated  by  Mr.  Benjamin  Marty n.  Secretary  of 
the  Trustees,  that  up  to  the  year  1741,  not  less  than  twelve 

*  An  Impartial  Enquiry  into  the  State  and  Utility  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  pp. 
69,  72.    London,  1741. 

Compare  A  State  of  the  Province  of  Georgia  attested  upon  Oath,  &c.,  pp.  5,  29,  'M, 
32*    London,  1742. 

An  Account  showing  the  Progress  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America,  &c.,  pp.  00, 
69.    London,  1741. 

tSee  McCall's  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  p.  199.    Savannah, ^811. 


I 


OLD,   AND   NfiW  EBENEZER.  25 

hundred  German  Protestants  had  arrived  in  the  Colony. 
Their  principal  settlements  were  at  Ebenezer,  Bethany, 
Savannah,  Frederica,  Goshen,  and  along  the  road  leading 
from  Savannah  to  Ebenezer.  They  were  all  characterized 
by  industry,  sobriety,  and  thrift. 

About  the  year  1744  the  Saltzburgers  at  Ebenezer  and 
along  the  line  of  the  public  road  running  from  that  town 
to  Savannah,  through  the  assistance  of  friends  in  Germany, 
were  enabled  to  build  two  comfortable  and  substantial 
houses  for  public  worship, — one  at  New  Ebenezer,  called 
Jerusalem  Church,  and  the  other  about  four  miles  below, 
named  Zlon  Church.  The  joy  experienced  upon  the  dedi- 
cation of  these  sacred  buildings  was  soon  turned  to  grief 
by  the  death  of  one  of  their  fajthful  pastors, — the  Reverend 
Israel  C.  Gronau, — who,  in  the  supreme  moments  of  a 
lingering  fever,  desiring  a  friend  to  support  his  hands 
uplifted  in  praise  of  the  Great  Master  whom  he  had  so  long 
and  so  truthfully  served,  exclaimed  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus ! 
Amen  ! !  Amen ! ! ! "  and  with  these  words, — the  last  upon 
his  lips, — entered  into  peace." 

Reverend  Mr.  Bolzius  continued  to  be  the  principal  pastor 
and,  as  an  assistant,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Lembke  was  asso- 
ciated with  him. 

As  early  as  January  31,  1732,  Sir  Thomas  Lombef  cer- 
tified to  the  Trustees  of  the  Colony  that  silk  produced  iu 
Carolina  possessed  "  as  much  natural  Strength  and  Beauty 
as  the  Silk  of  Italy."  In  his  "New  and  Accurate  Account 
of  the  Provinces  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,":!:  Mr. 
Oglethoi-jie   enumerated   among  the   chief    revenues   which 

*  See  Strobel's  Saltzburgers  and  their  Descendants,  p.  123.    Baltimore,  185;"). 
t  An  Account  showing  the  Progress  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  &c.,  pp.  39,  40.    London, 
1741. 
X  Chapter  V,  pp.  56,  59.    Lohdoh,  1733. 
i 


26  THE  DEA.D  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

might  be  anticipated  from  the  settlement  of  Georgia,  profits 
to  arise  from  the  manufacture  of  silk.  His  opinion  was  that 
between  forty  and  fifty  thousand  people  might  be  advan- 
tageously employed  in  this  business.  In  view  of  the  encour- 
agement which  might  reasonably  be  expected  from  Parlia- 
ment, and  the  cheapness  of  the  labor  and  land,  he  estimated 
that  the  cost  of  production  would  be  at  least  twenty-five 
per  cent,  lower  than  that  then  current  in  Piedmont.  Sharing 
in  this  belief,  the  Trustees  sent  to  Italy  for  silk-worm  eggs, 
and  engaged  the  services  of  several  Piedmontese  to  go  to 
Georgia  and  instruct  the  Colonists  in  thf^  production  of 
silk.*  In  the  grants  of  land  to  parties  emigrating  to  Georgia 
either  at  their  own  expense  or  at  the  charge  of  the  Charity, 
may  be  found  covenants  on  the  part  of  the  grantees  to 
"  keep  a  sufiicient  number  of  white  mulberry  trees  standing 
on  every  acre,"  or  else  to  "plant  them  where  they  were 
wanted."  A  special  plea  is  entered  by  Benjamin  Martyn 
in  bshalf  of  silk-culture  in  Georgia  and  the  manifest  benefits 
to  be  expected.t 

The  early  accounts  all  agree  in  representing  the  pro- 
duction of  silk  as  one  of  the  most  important  matters  to 
be  considered  and  fostered  in  connection  with  the  establish- 
ment and  development  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia. 

In  1735,  Queen  Caroline,  upon  the  King's  birth-day,  ap- 
peared in  a  full  robe  of  Georgia  silk ;  and  in  1739  a  parcel 
of  raw  silk,  brought  from  Georgia  by  Samuel  Augspourguer, 
was  exhibited  at  the  Trustees'  office  in  London  to  "Mr.  John 
Zachary, —  an  eminent  rajW-silk  merchant,  ^  and  to  Mr. 
Booth, — one  of  the  greatest  silk-weavers  in  England," — both 

*  An  Account  showing  the  Progress  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America,  p.  13.  Lon- 
don, 1741. 

t  Martyn's  Reasons  for  establishing  the  Colony  of  Georgia  with  regard  to  the  Trade  of 
Great  Britain,  p*  9.    Loudon,  1733. 


OLD,   AND   NEW  EBENEZER.  27 

of  whom  "  declared  it  to  be  as  fine  as  any  Italian  silk, 
and  worth  at  least  twenty,  shillings  a  pound."* 

With  that  industry  and  patience  so  characteristic  of  them 
as  a  people,  the  inhabitants  of  New  Ebenezer  were  among 
the  earliest  and  the  most  persevering  in  their  efi'orts  to 
carry  into  practical  operation  Mr.  Oglethorpe's  wishes  in 
regard  to  the  production  of  silk.  In  1736  each  Saltzburger 
there  was  presented  with  a  mulberry  tree,  and  two  of  the 
congregation  were  instructed  by  Mrs.  'Camuse  in  the  art 
of  reeling. 

Under  date  of  May  11th,  1741,  Mr.  Bolzius,  in  his  journal, 
records  the  fact  that  within  the  preceding  two  months 
twenty  girls  succeeded  in  making  seventeen  pounds  of 
cocoons  which  were  sold  at  Savannah  for  £3,  8s.  The  same 
year  £5  were  advanced  by  General  Oglethorpe  to  this 
Clergyman  for  the  purchase  of  trees.  With  this  sum  he  pro- 
cured twelve  hundred,  and  distril^uted  them  among  the 
families  of  his  parish. 

On  the  4th  of  December,  1742,  five  hundred  trees  were 
sent  by  General  Oglethorpe  to  Ebenezer,  with  a  promise 
of  more  should  they  be  needed.  Near  Mr.  Bolzius'  house  a 
machine  for  the  manufacture  of  raw-silk  was  erected,  and 
the  construction  of  a  public  Filature  was  contemplated.  Of 
the  eight  hundred  and  forty-seven  pounds  of  cocoons  raised 
in  the  Colony  of  Georgia  in  1747,  about  one-half  was  pro- 
duced by  the  Saltzburgers  at  Ebenezer.  Two  years  after- 
wards this  yield  was  increased  to  seven  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  pounds  of  cocoons,  and  fifty  pounds  thirteen  ounces  of 
spun  silk.  Two  machines  were  in  operation  in  Mr.  Bolzius' 
yard,  capable  of  reeling  twenty-four  ounces  per  day.     It  was 

■■■  An  Account  showing  the  Progress  of  the  Colony  of   Georgia  in  America,  &c.,  p.  32. 
London,  1741. 


28  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

apparent,  however,  that  while,  by  ordinary  hibor,  about  two 
shillings  could  be  earned,  scarcely  a  shilling  per  diem  could 
be  expected  by  one  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  silk. 
This  fact  proved  so  discouraging  to  the  Colonists  that,  ex- 
cept at  Ebenezer,  silk  culture  was  generally  relinquished. 
The  Germans  persevered,  and  as  the  result  of  their  energy, 
over  a  thousand  pounds  of  cocoons  and  seventy-four  pounds, 
two  ounces  of  raw-silk  were  raised  at  Ebenezer  in  1750,  and 
sold  for  XllO  sterling.  The  community  was  now  pretty  well 
supplied  with  copper  basins  and  reeling  machines.  Consid- 
erable effort  was  made  in  England  to  attract  the  notice  of 
the  Home  Government  to  this  production  of  silk  in  Georgia, 
and  to  enlist  in  its  behalf  fostering  influences  at  the  hands 
of  those  in  authority.  In  1755  a  paper  was  laid  before  the 
Lords  of  Trade  and  Plantations,  signed  by  about  forty 
eminent  silk  throwsters  and  weavers,  declaring  that  "  having 
examined  about  300  wt.  of  Gaorgia  raw -silk  they  found  it  as 
good  as  the  Piedmontese,  and  better  than  the  common 
Italian  silks."  Assurance  was  given  that  there  was  the 
utmost  reason  to  afford  "all  possible  encouragement  for 
the  raising  of  so  valuable  a  commodity."* 

In  1764  fifteen  thousand  two  hundred  and  twelve  pounds 
of  cocoons  were  delivered  at  the  Filature  in  Savannah,  then 
under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Ottolenghe,  of  which  eight  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  ninety-five  pounds  were  contributed 
by  the  Saltzburgers.  In  1766  the  production  of  silk  in 
Georgia  reached  its  acme,  and  from  that  time,  despite  the 
encouragement  extended  by  Parliament,  continued  to  de- 
cline until  it  was  practically  abandoned  a  few  years  before 
the  inception  of  the  Revolution.     Operations  at  the  Filature 

♦Gentleman's  Magazine  for  1755,  p.  185. 
London  "  "      "     p.  186. 


OLD,   AND   NEW  EBENEZER.  29 

in  Savannah  were  discontinued  in  1771 ;  and  Sir  James 
Wright,  in  his  message  to  the  Commons  House  of  Assem- 
bly, under  date  19th  of  January,  1774,  alludes  to  the  fact 
that  the  Filature  buildings  were  falling  into  decay,  and 
suggests  that  they  be  put  to  some  other  use. 

Despite  the  disinclination  existing  in  other  portions  of 
the  Colony  to  devote  much  time  and  labor  to  the  growing 
of  trees  and  the  manufacture  of  silk,  the  Saltzburgers, — 
incited  by  their  worthy  magistrate,  Mr.  Wertsch, — redoubled 
their  efforts,  and  in  1770,  as  the  result  of  their  industry, 
shipped  two  hundi'ed  and  ninety-one  pounds  of  raw-silk. 
At  the  suggestion  of  the  Earl  of  Hillsborough,  who  warmly 
commended  the  zeal  of  these  Germans  and  interested  him- 
self in  procuring  from  Parliament  a  small  sum  to  be  ex- 
ponded  in  aid  of  the  more  indigent  of  the  community,  Mr. 
Habersham  distributed  among  them  the  basins  and  reels 
then  being  in  the  unused  pubHc  Filature  in   Savannah. 

"So  popular  had  the  silk  business  become  at  Ebenezer 
that  Mr.  Habersham,  in  a  letter  dated  the  30th  of  March, 
1772,  says  :  'Some  persons  in  almost  every  family  there  un- 
derstand its  process  from  the  beginning  to  the  end.'  In  1771 
the  Germans  sent  four  hundred  and  thirty-eight  pounds 
of  raw  silk  to  England,  and  in  1772  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  pounds: — all  of  their  own  raising.  They  made  their 
own  reels,  which  were  so  much  esteemed  that  one  was  sent 
to  England  as  a  model,  and  another  taken  to  the  East  Indies 
by  Pickering  Robinson."^" 

In  the  face  of  the  distractions  encountered  upon  the 
commencement  of  hostilities  between  the  Colonies  and  the 
Mother  Country,  silk  culture  languished  even  among  these 


*Silk  Cultiire  in  Georgia,  by  Dr.  Stevens.    Harris'  Memorials  of  Oglethorpe,  pp.  410,  411. 
Boston,  1841. 


30  THE   DEAD   TOW^^S   OF   GEORGIA. 

Germans,  and  was  never  afterwards  revived  to  any  consid- 
erable degree.  The  unfriendliness  of  climate,  the  high  price 
of  labor,  the  withdrawal  of  air  bounty — which  had  been  the 
chief  stimulus  to  exertion, — and  the  larger  profits  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  cultivation  of  rice  and  cotton  combined  to 
interrupt  silk -raising,  and,  in  the  end,  caused  its  total 
abandonment. 

The  construction  of  a  bridge  over  Ebenezer  creek  ma- 
terially promoted  the  interests  and  the  convenience  of  those 
residing  at  Ebenezer ;  and  the  erection  of  Churches  at 
Bethany  and  Goshen, — the  former  about  five  miles  north- 
west of  Ebenezer,  and  the  latter  some  ten  miles  below  and 
near  the  road  leading  to  Savannah, — indicated  the  growth 
of  the  German  plantations  along  the  line  of  the  Savannah 
river. 

The  settlement  at  Bethany  was  effected  in  1751  by  John 
Gerar  "William  DeBrahm,  who  there  located  one  hundred 
and  sixty  Germans.  Eleven  months  afterwards  these  Colo- 
nists were  joined  by  an  equal  number, — "the  Relations  and 
Acquaintance  of  the  former."  The  Saltzburgers  then  num- 
bered about  fifteen  hundred  souls.^  Alluding  to  the  location 
and  growth  of  these  plantations,  and  the  agricultural  pur- 
suits of  their  cultivators,  Surveyor-General  DeBrahm  says : 
"The  German  Settlements  have  since  Streatched  S:  East- 
wardly  about  32  miles  N :  W-ward  from  the  Sea  upon  Sa- 
vannah Stream,  from  whence  they  extend  up  tlie  same 
Stream  through  the  whole  Salt  Air  Zona.  They  cultivate 
European  and  American  Grains  to  Perfection ;  as  Wheat, 
Rye,  Barley,  Oats ;  also  Flax,  Hemp,  Tobacco  and  Rice, 
Indigo,  Maize,  Peas,  Pompions,  Melons — they  plant  Mul- 
berry, Apple,  Peach,  Nectorins,  Plumbs  and  Quince  Trees, 

*  History  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  &c.  p.  20.    Worinsloe.  1749. 


OLD,   AND   NEW  EBENEZER.  ,^1 

besides  all  manner  of  European  Garden  Herbs,  but,  in 
particular,  they  Chose  the  Culture  of  silk  their  principal 
Object,  in  which  Culture  they  made  such  a  Progress,  that 
the  Filature,  which  is  erected  in  the  City  of  Savannah  could 
afford  to  send  in  1768  to  London  1,084  Pounds  of  raw  Silk, 
equal  in  Goodness  to  that  manufactured  in  Piemont ;  but 
the  Bounties  to  encourage  that  Manufactory  being  taken  off, 
they  discouraged,  dropt  their  hands  from  that  Culture  from 
year  to  year  in  a  manner,  that  in  1771  its  Product  was 
only  290  Pounds  in  lieu  of  1,464,  which  must  have  been  that 
year's  Produce,  had  this  Manufactory  been  encouraged  to 
increase  at  a  16  years  rate.  In  lieu  of  Silk  they  have  taken 
under  more  Consideration  the  Culture  of  Maize,  Rice,  Indigo, 
Hemp  &  Tobacco :  But  the  Vines  have  not  as  yet  become 
an  Object  of  their  Attention,  altlio'  in  the  Country  especially 
over  the  German  Settlements,  Nature  makes  all  the  Promises, 
yea  gives  yearly  full  Assurances  of  her  Assistance  by  her 
own  Endeavours  producing  Clusture  Grapes  in  Abundance 
on  its  uncultivated  Vines ;  yet  there  is  no  Person,  who  will 
listen  to  her  Addresses,  and  give  her  the  least  Assistance, 
notwithstanding  many  of  the  Inhabitants  are  refreshed  from 
the  Sweetness  of  her  wild  Productions.  The  Culture  of 
Indigo  is  brought  to  the  same  Perfection  here,  as  in  South 
Carolina,  and  is  manufactured  through  all  the  Settlements 
from  the  Sea  Coast,  to  the  Extent  of  the  interior  Country."* 
On  the  19th  of  November,  1765,  the  Ebenezer  congre- 
gation was  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  its  venerable 
Spiritual  Guide,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Bolzius,  who  had  been 
at  once  teacher  and  magistrate,  counsellor  and  friend  during 
the  thirty  years  of  poverty  and  privation,  labor  and  sorrow, 
hope  and  joy,  passed  in   the  wilds  of    Georgia.      He  was 

*  History  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  ic,  pp.  21,  22.    Wormsloc,  1849. 


'^2  THE  t)EAD  TOWNS   OP  GEORGIA. 

interred,  amid  the  lamentations  of  liis  people,  in  the  ceme- 
tery near  Jerusalem  Church,  and  no  stone  marks  his  grave. 

After  his  demise  the  conduct  of  the  Society  devolved 
upon  Messrs.  Lenibke  and  Kabenhorst.  This  involved  not 
only  the  spiritual  care  of  this  people,  but  also  the  preser- 
vation and  proper  management  of  the  mill-establishments 
and  public  property  belonging  to  the  Ebenezer  Congrega- 
tion. "  These  two  faithful  men,"  writes  the  Eeverend  P.  A. 
Strobel,*  "labored  harmoniously  and  successfully  in  the 
discharge  of  their  heavy  civil  and  religious  obhgations,  and 
gave  entire  satisfaction  to  those  with  whose  interests  they 
were  intrusted."  During  their  administration  the  large 
brick  house  of  worship,  known  as  Jerusalem  Church,  was 
built  at  Ebenezer.  The  materials  used  in  its  construction 
were,  for  the  most  part,  supplied  by  the  Saltzburgers,  while 
the  funds  necessary  to  defray  the  cost  of  erection  were 
contributed  by  friends  in  Germany. 

Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Lembke,  the  Reverend  Christopher 
F.  Triebner  "  was  sent  over  by  the  reverend  fathers  in  Ger- 
many as  an  adjunct  to  Mr.  Babenhorst.  Being  a  young 
man  of  talents,  but  of  an  impetuous  and  ambitious  dispo- 
sition, he  soon  raised  such  a  tumult  in  the  quiet  community 
that  all  the  efforts  of  the  famous  Mr.  Muhlenburg,  who  was 
ordered  on  a  special  mission  to  Ebenezer  in  1774  to  heal 
the  disturbances  which  had  arisen,  scarce  saved  the  con- 
gregation from  disintegration.  The  schism  was,  however, 
finally  cured,  and  peace  was  restored."  For  the  better 
government  of  the  Society,  articles  of  discipline  were  pre- 
pared by  Dr.  Muhlenburg,  which  were  formally  subscribed 
by  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  male  members.  This 
occurred  at  Jerusalem  Church  on  the  16th  of  January,  1775, 

*  The  Saltzburgers  and  their  DcBcendants,  &c.,  p.  149.    Baltimore,  1855. 


OLD,   AND   NEW   EBENEZER.  ^3 

and  affords  substantial  evidence  of  tlie  strength  of  the 
congregation. 

The  property  belonging  to  the  Church,  according  to  an 
inventory  made  by  Dr.  Muhlenburg  in  1775,  consisted  of 
the  following  : 

"1.  In  the  hands  of  Pastor  Rabenhorst  a  capital  of  £300. 
16s.  5d. 

2.  In  the  hands  of  John  Casper  Wertsch,  for  the  store,  £300. 

3.  In  the  mill  treasury,  notes  and  money,  £229.  16s.  2d. 

4.  Pastor  Tnebner  has  some  money  in  hands,  (X400)   the 

application  of  which  has  not  been  determined  by  our 
Reverend  Fathers. 

5.  Belonging  to  the  Church  is  a  Negro  Boy  at  Mr.  John 

Floerls',  and  a  Negi'o  Girl  at  Mr.  David  Steiner's. 

6.  A  town-lot  and  an  out-lot,  of  which  Mr.  John  Triebner 

has  the  grant  in  his  hands. 

7.  An  inventory  of  personal  goods  in   the   mills  belonging 

to  the  estate. 

8.  And,  finally,  real  estate,  with  the  mills,  925  acres  of  land.'* 
Including  certain  legacies  from  private  individuals,  and 

donations  from  patrons  of  the  Colony  in  Gei-many,  which 
were  received  within  a  short  time,  it  is  conjectured  that  this 
church  property  was  then  worth  not  much  less  than  twenty 
thousand  dollars. 

So  hmg  as  the  congregation  at  Ebenezer  preserved  its 
integrity,  direct  allegiance  to  the  parent  Church  in  Germany 
was  acknowledged,  its  precepts,  orders  and  deliverances 
were  obeyed,  its  teachers  welcomed  and  respected,  and 
accounts  of  all  receipts,  disbursements,  and  important 
transactions  regularly  rendered.  Its  pastors  continued  to 
be  charged  with  the  administration  of  affairs,  both  spiritual 
and  temporal,  and  were  the    duly    constituted    custodians 


34  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  (lEOROiA. 

of  all  cliurch  funds  and  property.  Upon  their  arrival  in 
Georgia  these  Saltzburgers,  wearied  with  persecutions  and 
stripped  of  the  small  possessions  which  were  once  theirs, 
were  at  first  quite  dependent  upon  public  and  private  charity 
for  bare  subsistence.  They  were  then  unable,  by  voluntary 
contributions,  to  sustain  their  pastors  and  teachers,  and 
build  churches.  Foreign  aid  arrived,  however,  from  time 
to  time,  and  this  was  supplemented  in  a  small,  yet  generous 
way,  by  the  labor  of  the  parishioners  and  such  sums  and 
articles  as  could  be  spared  from  their  slow  accumulations. 
AVith  a  view  to  providing  for  the  future,  all  means  thus 
derived  were  carefully  invested  for  the  benefit  of  church 
and  pastor.  This  system  was  maintained  for  more  than  fifty 
years,  so  that  in  the  course  of  time  not  only  were  churches 
built,  but  reasonable  provision  was  made  for  clergyman, 
teacher,  and  orphan,  aside  from  the  yearly  voluntary  contri- 
butions of  the  members  of  the  Society.  The  education  of 
youths  was  not  neglected  ;  and  DeBrahm  assures  us  that 
in  his  day  a  library  had  been  accumulated  at  Ebenezer  in 
which  "could  be  had  Books  wrote  in  the  Caldaic,  Hebrew, 
Arabec,  Siriac,  Coptic,  Malabar,  Greek,  Latin,  French, 
German,  Dutch  and  Spanish,  beside  the  English,  viz  :  in 
thirteen  Languages."" 

In  the  division  of  the  Province  of  Georgia  into  eight 
Parishes,  which  occurred  on  the  15th  of  March,  1758,  "the 
district  of  Abercorn  and  Gosjien,  and  the  district  of  Ebene- 
zer— extending  from  the  northwest  boundaries  of  the  jjarish 
of  Christ  Church  up  the  river  Savannah  as  far  as  the  Beaver 
Dam,  and  southwest  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  Horse-Creek 
on  the  river  Great  Ogechee  " — were  declared  a  Parish  under 

*  History  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  &c.,  p.  24.    Wormsloe,  1849. 


OLD,   AND   NEW  EBENEZER.  35 

the  name  of  "  The  Parish  of  St.  Matthew."*^  The  parish 
just  below,  on  the  line  of  the  Savannah  river,  and  embracing 
the  town  of  Savannah,  was  known  as  "  Christ  Church 
Parish." 

The  Parish  of  St.  Matthew,  and  the  upper  part  of  St. 
Phili])  lying  above  the  Canouchee  river,  were,  by  the  Con- 
stitution of  Georgia  adopted  at  Savannah  on  the  5th  of 
Febniary,  1777,  consolidated  into  a  county  called  Effingham.f 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Keverend  Mr.  Strobel,  to  whose 
valuable  sketch  of  the  Saltzburgers  and  their  descendants 
we  are  indebted  for  much  of  the  information  contained  in 
these  pages,  Ebenezer  attained  the  height  of  its  importance 
about  177-4.  The  population  of  the  town  proper  was  not 
less  than  five  hundred,  embracing  agiiculturists,  mechan- 
ics, and  shop-keepers,  who  pursued  their  respective  avo- 
cations with  energy  and  thrift.  Trade  with  Savannah  and 
Charleston  was  carried  on  by  means  of  sloops  and  schooners. 
In  a  contemporaneous  picture,  representing  the  general 
appearance  of  the  town,  may  be  seen  two  schooners  riding 
at  anchor  near  the  Ebenezer  landing.  J 

Although  there  arose  a  sharp  division  of  sentiment  when 
the  question  of  direct  opposition  to  the  acts  of  Parliament 
was  discussed  at  Ebenezer  in  1774,  and  although  quite  a 
number  of  the  inhabitants  favored  "  passive  obedience  and 
non-resistance,"  the  response  of  the  majority  was:  "We 
have   experienced   the   evils  of   tyranny  in  our  own  land ; 


*  Marbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  pp.  150,  151. 

Under  the  Writs  of  Election  issued  by  Sir  -James  Wright  in  1701,  the  following  gentle- 
men were  returned  as  members  from  St.  Matthew's  Parish  : 
Abereorn  and  Goshen— William  Frant-is. 
Ebenezer— William  Ewen,  N.  W.  Jones,  and  James  de  Veaux.lT 

H  McCall's  History  of  Georgia,  vol  i,  p.  "iSo. 

t  Watkins'  Digest,  p.  8. 

t  See  Strobel's  Saltzburgers  and  their  Descendants,  p.  19i.    Baltimore,  1855. 


36  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

for  the  sake  of  liberty  we  have  left  home,  lands,  houses, 
estates,  and  have  taken  refuge  hi  the  Avilds  of  Georgia  ; 
shall* we  now  submit  again  to  bondage?  No,  never."  Among 
the  delegates  from  the  Parish  of  St.  Matthew  to  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress  which  assembled  in  Savannah  on  the  4th 
of  July,  1775,  were  the  following  Saltzburgers :  John  Stirk, 
John  Adam  Treutlen,  Jacob  Waldhauer,  John  Floerl,  and 
Christopher  Craemer.  Despite  the  fact  that  as  a  community 
the  Saltzburgers  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Revolutionists, 
a  considerable  faction,  headed  by  Mr.  Triebner,  maintained 
an  open  and  a  strenuous  adherence  to  the  Crown.  Between 
these  parties  sprang  up  an  angry  controversy,  replete  with 
the  bitterest  feelings,  and  very  prejudicial  to  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  the  congregation.  In  the  midst  of  the  dis- 
cussion the  Reverend  Mr.  Eabenhorst,  who  exerted  his 
utmost  influence  to  curb  the  dominant  passions  and  incul- 
cate mutual  forbearance,  crowned  his  long  and  useful  life 
with  a  saintly  death. 

Three  days  after  the  capture  of  Savannah  by  Colonel 
Campbell,  a  strong  force  was  advanced,  under  the  command 
of  Lieut.  Col.  Maitland,  to  Cherokee  Hill.  The  following 
day  [January  2,  1779,1  Ebenezer  was  occupied  by  the 
British  troops.  Upon  their  arrival  they  threw  up  a  redoubt 
within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  Jerusalem  Church  and  fortified 
the  position.  J  The  remains  of  this  work  are  said  to  be  still 
visible.  The  moment  he  learned  that  Savannah  had  fallen 
before  Colonel  Campbell's  column,  Mr.  Triebner  hastened 
to  that  place,  proclaimed  his  loj^alty,  and  took  the  oath 
of  allegiance.  The  intimation  is  that  he  counselled  the 
immediate  occupation  of  Ebenezer,  and  in  person  accom- 

t  In  1776,  Ebenezer  had  been  partially  fortified  by  the  Revolutionists.* 
*  See  letter  of  Sir  James  Wright  to  Lord  George    Germain  under  date  March  20.  1776. 
Collections  of  the  Georgiu  Historic^,!  Society,  vol.  in,  p.  239.    Savannah,  187;?, 


\ 


OLD,    AND   NEW  EBENEZER.  37 

paiiied  the  detaclimeut  whicli  compassed  the  capture  of  his 
own  town  and  people.  He  was  a  violent,  uncompromising 
man, — at  all  times  intent  upon  the  success  of  his  peculiar 
views  and  wishes.  Influenced  by  his  advice  and  example, 
not  a  few  of  the  Saltzburgers  subscribed  oaths  of  allegiance 
to  the  British  Crown,  and  received  certificates  guaranteeing 
Royal  protection  to  person  and  property.  Prominent  among 
those  who  maintained  their  adherence  to  the  Rebel  cause 
were  Governor  John  Adam  Trentlen,  William  Holsendorf, 
Colonel  John  Stirk,  Secretary  Samuel  Stirk,  John  Schnider, 
Rudolph  Strohaker,  Jonathan  Schnider,  J.  Gotlieb  Schnider, 
Jonathan  Rahn,  Ernest  Zittrauer,  and  Joshua  and  Jacob 
Heltenstein. 

'*  The  citizens  at  Ebenezer  and  the  surrounding  country," 
says  Mr.  Strobel,  "were  made  to  feel  very  severely  the 
effects  of  the  war.  The  property  of  those  who  did  not  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  was  confiscated,  and  they  were  con- 
stantly exposed  to  every  species  of  insult  and  wrong  from 
a  hired  and  profligate  soldiery.  Besides  this,  some  of  the 
Saltzburgers  who  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Crown  became 
very  inveterate  in  their  hostility  to  the  Whigs  in  the  set- 
tlement, and  pillaged  and  then  burnt  their  dwellings.  The 
residence  on  the  farm  of  the  pious  Rabenhorst  was  among 
the  first  given  to  the  flames.  Among  those  who  distin- 
guished themselves  for  their  cruelty  was  one  Eichel, — who 
has  been  properly  termed  an  'inhuman  miscreant,' — whose 
residence  was  at  Goshen,  and  Martin  Dasher,  who  kept  a 
public  house  five  miles  below  Ebenezer.  These  men  placed 
themselves  at  the  head  of  marauding  parties,  composed  of 
British  and  Tories,  and  laid  waste  every  plantation  or  farm 
whose  occupant  was  even  suspected  of  favoring  the  Republi- 
can cause.    In  these  predatory  excursions  the  most  revolting 


38  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

cruelty  and  unbridled  licentiousness  were  indulged,  and  the 
whole  country  was  ovelTun  and  devastated.  ^v  -x-  -h- 
The  Salzburgers,  nevertheless,  were  to  exi)erience  great 
annoyances  from  other  sources.  *  -x-  *  j^  jjj^^ 
of  British  posts  had  been  established  all  along  the  western 
bank  of  the  Savannah  river  to  check  the  demonstrations  of 
the  Rebel  forces  in  Carolina.  Under  these  circumstances, 
Ebenezer,  from  its  somewhat  central  position,  became  a  kind 
of  thoroughfare  for  the  British  troops  in  passing  through 
the  country  from  Augusta  to  Savannah.  To  the  inhabitants 
of  Ebenezer,  particularly,  this  was  a  source  of  perpetual 
annoyance.  British  troops  were  constantly  quartered  among 
them,  and  to  avoid  the  rudeness  of  the  soldiers  and  the 
heavy  tax  upon  their  resources,  many  of  the  best  citizens 
were  forced  to  abandon  their  homes  and  settle  in  the 
country,  thus  leaving  their  houses  to  the  mercy  of  their  cruel 
invaders. 

"  Besides  all  this,  they  were  forced  to  witness  almost  daily 
acts  of  cruelty  practised  by  the  British  and  Tories  toward 
those  Americans  who  happened  to  fall  into  their  hands  as 
prisoners  of  war ;  for  it  will  be  remembered  that  Ebenezer, 
while  in  the  hands  of  the  British,  was  the  point  to  which 
all  prisoners  taken  in  the  surrounding  country  were  brought 
and  from  thence  sent  to  Savannah.  It  was  from  this  post 
that  the  prisoners  Avere  carried  who  were  rescued  by 
Sergeant  Jasper  and  his  comrade,  Newton,  at  the  Jasper 
Spring,  a  few  miles  above  Savannah. 

"  There  was  one  act  performed  by  the  British  commander 
which  was  peculiarly  trying  and  revolting  to  the  Salzburgers. 
Their  fine  brick  church  was  converted  into  a  hospital  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  subse- 
quently it  was  desecrated  by  being  used  as  a  stable  for  their 


OLD,   AND  NEW  EBENEZEfi.  S9 

horses.  To  this  latter  use  it  was  devoted  until  the  close  of 
the  war  and  the  removal  of  the  British  troops  fi'om  Georgia. 
To  show  their  contempt  for  the  church  and  their  disregard 
for  the  religious  sentiments  of  the  people,  the  church  records 
were  nearly  all  destroyed,  and  the  soldiers  would  discharge 
their  guns  at  different  objects  on  the  church  ;  and  even  to 
this  day  the  metal  "  Swan  "  (Luther's  coat  of  arms)  which 
surmounts  the  spire  on  the  steeple,  bears  the  mark  of  a 
musket  ball  which  was  fired  through  it  by  a  reckless  soldier. 
Often,  too,  cannon  were  discharged  at  the  houses  ;  and  there 
is  a  log- house  now  standing  not  far  from  Ebenezer,  which 
was  perforated  by  several  cannon  shot.  *  -j^  ^  The 
Salzburgers  endured  all  these  hardships  and  indignities  with 
becoming  fortitude ;  and  though  a  few  were  overcome  by 
these  severe  measures,  yet  the  great  mass  of  them  remained 
firm  in  their  attachment  to  the  principles  of  liberty."* 

It  is  suggested  that  the  establishment  of  tippling  houses 
in  Ebenezer,  during  its  occupancy  by  the  British,  and  con- 
stant intercourse  with  a  licentious  soldiery,  corrupted  the 
lives  of  not  a  few  of  the  once  sober  and  orderly  Germans. 
That  th^  protracted  presence  of  the  enemy,  the  confiscation 
of  estates,  the  interruption  of  regular  pursuits,  the  expul- 
sion of  such  as  clave  to  the  Confederate  cause,  and  the 
general  demoralization  cosnequent  upon  a  state  of  war, 
tended  to  the  manifest  injury  and  depopulation  of  the  town, 
cannot,  for  a  moment,  be  questioned.  Indications  of  decay 
and  ruin  were  patent  in  Ebenezer  before  the  cessation  of 
hostilities.  From  the  time  of  its  occupation  by  Maitland, 
shortly  after  the  capture  of  Savannah  by  Colonel  Campbell 
in  December,  1778, — with  the  exception  of  the  limited 
period    when  its  garrison  was  called    in    to    assist  in  the 

♦Strobel's  Saltzburgers  and  their  Descendants,  pp.  'iO'i,  207,     Baltimore,  1855. 


iO  ^HE  l)EAt)  TOWNS  01'  OEOHGIA. 

defense  of  Savannah  against  the  operations  of  the  allied 
army  under  the  command  of  Count  DeEstaing  and  General 
Lincoln  in  the  fall  of  1779, — Ebenezer  continued  in  the 
possession  of  the  British  until  a  short  time  prior  to  the 
evacuation  of  Savannah  in  July,  1788.  In  his  advance 
toward  Savannah,  General  Anthony  Wayne  established  his 
head  quarters  at  this  town.  The  Tory  pastor,  Triebner, 
who,  during  the  struggle  had  sided  with  the  Royalists  and 
remained  unmoved  amid  the  sufferings  and  oppressions  of 
his  people,  betook  himself  to  flight  so  soon  as  the  English 
forces  were  withdrawn,  and  found  a  refuge  in  England, 
where  he  ended  his  days  in  seclusion. 

Upon  the  evacuation  of  Savannah,  many  of  the  Saltz- 
burgers  returned  to  Ebenezer.  Its  aspect  was  sadly 
changed.  Not  a  few  of  the  abandoned  dwellings  had  been 
burned.  Others  had  fallen  into  decay.  Smiling  gardens 
had  been  trampled  into  desert  places,  and  the  impress  of 
stagnation,  neglect,  and  desolation  Avas  upon  everything. 
Jerusalem  Church  was  a  mass  of  filth,  and  very  dilapidated. 
Notwithstanding  this  sad  condition  of  affairs,  much  energy 
was  displayed  in  the  purification  and  renovation  of  this 
temple  of  worship,  and  in  the  rehabilitation  of  the  town. 
\J  The  arrival;  of  the  Reverend  John  Ernest  Bergman, — a 

clergyman  of  decided  talents  and  of  considerable  literary 
attainments, — and  the  revival  of  the  parochial  school  greatly 
encouraged  the  depressed  inhabitants  and  promoted  the 
general  improvement  of  the  place.  The  population  began 
to  increase.  It  assumed  an  apparently  permanent  character? 
and  countenanced  the  hope  that  the  ante-bellum  quiet,  good 
order,  thrift,  and  prosperity  would  be  regained.  This  ex- 
pectation, however,  was  not  fully  realized.  The  former 
trade  never  revived.      The  mills  were  never  again  put  in 


OLD,   AND   NEW   EBENEZEH.  41 

motion.  Silk-culture  .was  renewed  only  to  a  limited  degree. 
Having  for  twenty-five  years  more  remained  about  station- 
ary, New  Ebenezer  commenced  visibly  to  decline  ;  and,  when 
scarcely  more  than  a  century  old,  took  its  place,  in  silence 
and  nothingness,  among  the  dead  towns  of  Georgia.* 

The  act  of  February  26th,  1784,t  provided  for  the  erec- 
tion of  the  "  Court  House  and  Gaol "  and  for  holding  public 
elections  in  Effingham  County  at  Tuckasee-King,  near  the 
present  line  of  Scriven  County.  The  situation  proving  in- 
convenient, three  years  afterwards  the  county-seat  was  re- 
moved to  Elberton,  near  Indian  Bluff,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Great  Ogeechee  river. 

On  the  18th  of  February,  1796,  the  Legislature  of  Geor- 
giaj  appointed  Jeremiah  Guyler,  John  G.  Neidlinger,  Jona- 
than Kawhn,  Elias  Hodges,  and  John  Martin  Dasher  "com- 
missioners for  the  town  and  common  of  Ebenezer,"  with  in- 
structions to  have  the  town  "  surveyed  and  laid  out  as  nearly 
as  possible  in  conformity  to  the  original  plan  thereof,  to 
sell  all  vacant  lots,  and  such  as  had  become  vested  in  the 
State,  [reser%dng  such  only  as  were  necessary  for  public 
uses,!  ^^^  appropriate  the  proceeds  to  the  erection  of  a 
County  Court  House  and  Jail."  Any  over-plus  was  to  be 
applied  to  building  a  public  Academy.  For  three  years  only 
did  Ebenezer  remain  the  County  Town  of  Effingham  County. 
In  1799,  its  public  buildings  were  sold,  and  the  village  of 
Springfield  was  designated  by  the  Legislature  as  "  the  per- 
manent seat  for  the  public  buildings  of  the  County  of  Effing- 


♦  Ebenezer  is  not  mentioned  among  the  principal  towns  of  Georgia  enumerated  by 
George  Sibbald  in  1801. 

See  "Notes  and  Observations  on  the  Pine  Lands  of  Georgia,"  &c.,  pp.58  to  66.  Augusta, 
1801. 

t  Watkins'  Digest,  p.  298. 

$Marbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  pp.  154,  155. 
6 


42  THE  DElAD  TOWNS  OF  GfiORGlA. 

ham."^  David  Hall,  Joshua  Loper,  Samuel  Eyals,  Godlielf 
Smith,  and  Drurias  Garrison  were  appointed  commissioners 
to  carry  this  change  into  effect. 

In  1808  the  Ebenezer  Congregation  received  legislative 
permission  to  sell  the  glebe  lands  which  it  owned.  By  de- 
grees all  the  real  estate  held  by  the  society  was  disposed  of. 
The  proceeds  arising  from  these  sales  were  invested  in  lands, 
mortgages,  and  securities ; — the  interest  accruing  being  ap- 
plied to  the  payment  of  the  pastor's  salary  and  the  current 
expenses  of  the  church. t 

Until  about  the  year  1803  all  the  religious  services 
observed  by  the  Saltzburgers  were  conducted  in  the  German 
language  ;  and,  in  the  church  at  Ebenezer,  for  a  long  time 
subsequent  to  that  date,  the  religious  exercises  continued 
in  that  tongue.  ,  Methodist  and  Baptist  Churches  springing 
up  in  the  neighborhood  drew  away  many  of  the  younger 
members  of  the  congregation.  The  introduction  of  the 
English  language  into  all  the  Saltzburger  Churches  was 
effected  in  1824  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Keverend 
Christopher  F.  Bergman. 

Year  by  year  Ebenezer  became  more  sparsely  populated. 
Many  of  its  citizens  removed  into  the  interior  and  upper 
parts  of  the  county.  Quite  a  number  formed  settlements 
in  Scriven  County,  while  others  went  to  Savannah,  and  to 
Lowndes,  Liberty,  and  Thomas  counties.  Others  still, — 
more  enterprizing  than  their  fellows, — sought  new  homes  in 
South  Carolina,  Alabama,  Florida,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio. 

We  close  this  sketch  with  a  picture  of  Ebenezer  painted 
by  one  of  the  late  Pastorsij:  of  Jerusalem  Church, — a  gen- 

*Marbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  p.  158. 

t  See  Strobel's  Saltzburgers  and  their  Descendants,  p.  234.    Baltimore,  1855. 

t  Rev'd  P.  A.  Strobel. 


OLD,   AND  NEW  EBENEZER.  43 

tleman  of  cultivation  and  of  piety,  who  saw  the  last  waves 
«_  of  oblivion  as  they  closed  over  the  town  and  obliterated 
^L  its  decayed  traces  fi'om  the  gi*ass  covered  bluff  of  the 
^BSavannah. 

^B     "To  one  visiting  the  ancient  town  of  Ebenezer,  in  the 

^■present  day   [1855]   the  prospect  which    presents  itself   is 

^»anything  but  attractive ;  and  the  stranger  who  is  unacquaint- 

^Ved  with  its  history  would  perhaps   discover  very  little  to 

excite  his  curiosity  or  awaken  his  sympathies.     The  town 

B|  has  gone  almost  entirely  to  ruins.     Only  two  residences  are 

now  remaining,  and  one  of  these  is  untenanted.     The  old 

church,  however,  stands  in  bold  relief  upon  an  open  lawn, 

and  by  its  somewhat  antique  appearance  seems  silently,  yet 

forcibly,  to  call  up  the  reminiscences  of  former  years.     Not 

far  distant  from  the  church  is  the  cemetery,  in  which  are 

sleeping    the  remains  of   the  venerable  men  who  founded 

the  colony  and  the  chui-ch,  and  many  of  their  descendants 

who,  one  by  one,  have  gone  down  to  the  grave  to  mingle 

Wt  their  ashes  with  those  of  their  illustrious  ancestors. 

"  Except  upon  the  Sabbath,  when  the  descendants  of  the 
Saltzburgers  go  up  to  their  temple  to  worship  the  God  of 
their  fathers,  the  stillness  which  reigns  around  Ebenezer 
is  seldom  broken,  save  by  the  warbling  of  birds,  the  occa- 
sional transit  of  a  steamer,  or  the  murmurs  of  the  Savannah 
as  it  flows  on  to  lose  itself  in  the  ocean.  The  sighing  winds 
chant  melancholy  dirges  as  they  sweep  through  the  lofty 
pines  and  cedars  which  cast  their  sombre  shades  over  this 
'deserted  village.'  Desolation,  seems  to  have  spread  over 
this  once-favored  spot  its  withering  wing,  and  here,  where 
generation  after  generation  gi-ew  up  and  flourished,  where 
the  persecuted  and  exiled  Saltzburgers  reared  their  offspring 
in  the  hope  that  they  would  leave  a  numerous  progeny  of 


44  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

pious,  useful,  and  prosperous  citizens,  and  where  everything 
seemed  to  betoken  the  estabhshment  of  a  thrifty  and  per- 
manent colony,  scarcely  anything  is  to  be  seen,  except  the 
sad  evidences  of  decay  and  death." 


II. 

FREDERICA 


"As  the  Mind  of  Man  cannot  form  a  more  exalted 
Pleasure  than  what  arises  from  the  Reflexion  of  having 
reUeved  the  Distressed;  let  the  Man  of  Benevolence, 
whose  Substance  enables  him  to  contribute  towards  this 
Undertaking,  give  a  Loose  for  a  little  to  his  Imagination, 
pass  over  a  few  Years  of  his  Life,  and  think  himself  in 
a  Visit  to  Georgia.  Let  him  see  those,  who  are  now  a 
Prey  to  all  the  Calamities  of  Want,  who  are  starving 
with  Hunger,  and  seeing  their  Wives  and  Children  in  the 
same  Distress ;  expecting  likewise  every  Moment  to  be 
thrown  into  a  Dungeon,  with  the  cutting  Anguish  that 
they  leave  their  Families  expos'd  to  the  utmost  Necessity 
and  Despair :  Let  him,  I  say,  see  these  living  under 
a  sober  and  orderly  Government,  settled  in  Towns,  which 
are  rising  at  Distances  along  navigable  Rivers :  Flocks 
and  Herds  in  the  neighbouring  Pastures,  and  adjoining 
to  them  Plantations  of  regular  Rows  of  Mulberry-Trees, 
entwin'd  with  Vines,  the  Branches  of  which  are  loaded 
with  Grapes ;  let  him  see  Orchards  of  Oranges,  Pome- 
granates, and  Oliver;  in  other  Places  extended  Fields  of 
Corn,  or  Flax  and  Hemp.  In  short,  the  whole  Face  of 
the  Country  chang'd  by  Agriculture,  and  Plenty  in  every 
Part  of  it.  Let  him  see  the  People  aU  in  Employment 
of  ^various  Kinds,  Women  and  Children  feeding  and  nurs- 


46  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

ing  the  Silkworms,  winding  off  the  Silk,  or  gathering  the 
Olives ;  the  Men  ploughing  and  planting  their  Lands, 
tending  their  Cattle,  or  felling  the  Forest,  which  they 
bum  for  Potashes,  or  square  for  the  Builder;  let  him 
see  these  in  Content  and  Affluence,  and  Masters  of  little 
Possessions  which  they  can  leave  to  their  Children;  and 
then  let  him  think  if  they  are  not  happier  than  those 
supported  by  Charity  in  Idleness.  Let  him  reflect  that 
the  Produce  of  their  Labour  will  be  so  much  new 
Wealth  for  his  Country,  and  then  let  him  ask  himself. 
Whether  he  would  exchange  the  Satisfaction  of  having 
contributed  to  this,  for  all  the  trifling  Pleasures  the 
Money,   which   he   has  given,   would  have  purchas'd. 

"  Of  all  publick-spirited  Actions,  perhaps  none  can 
claim  a  Preference  to  the  Settling  of  Colonies,  as  none 
are  in  the  End  more  useful.  ^  *  ^  Whoever  then  is  a 
Lover  of  Liberty  will  be  pleas'd  with  an  Attempt  to  re- 
cover his  fellow  Subjects  from  a  State  of  Misery  and 
Oppression,  and   fix   them   in   Happiness  and   Freedom. 

"  Whoever  is  a  Lover  of  his  Country  will  approve  of  a 
Method  for  the  Employment  of  her  Poor,  and  the  In- 
crease of  her  People  and  her  Trade.  Whoever  is  a 
Lover  of  Mankind  will  join  his  wishes  to  the  Success 
of  a  Design  so  plainly  calculated  for  their  Good :  Un- 
dertaken, and  conducted  with  so  much  Disinterestedness." 

By  such  suggestions  did  Benjamin  Martyn"^  seek  to 
enlist  the  public  sympathy  in  behalf  of  the  then  projected 
but  not  established  Colony  of  Georgia. 

Mr.  Oglethorpe,  in  a  contemporaneous  publication,!  had 

*  Reasons  for  Establishing  the  Colony  of  Georgia  with  regard  to  the  Trade  of  Great 
Britain,  &c.,  pp.  38-41.    London,  1733. 

t  A  New  and  Accurate  Account  of  the  Provinces  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  &c 
London,  1733. 


assigned,  among  the  weightiest  reasons  for  founding  the 
Colony,  the  ample  opportunity  which  would  be  afforded 
in  Georgia  for  persons  reduced  to  poverty  at  home  and  con- 
stituting a  positive  charge  upon  the  Nation,  to  be  made 
happy  and  prosperous  abroad  and  profitable  to  England. 
The  conversion  of  the  Indians,  the  confirmation  of  the  de- 
velopment and  security  of  Carolina,  and  a  lucrative  trade 
in  silk,  rice,  cotton,  wine,  indigo,  grain,  and  lumber,  were 
enumerated   as   additional  inducements   to   the   enterprize. 

On  the  9th  of  June,  1732,  his  Majesty,  George  the 
Second,  by  Charter,  granted  to  the  Trustees  for  estab- 
lishing the  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America  and  their  succes- 
sors, all  the  Lands  and  Territories  from  the  most  northern 
stream  of  the  Savannah  river  along  the  sea-coast  to  the 
southward  unto  the  most  southern  stream  of  the  Alatamaha 
river,  and  westward' from  the  heads  of  the  said  rivers  re- 
spectively in  direct  lines  to  the  south  seas.  Not  only  the 
lands  lying  within  these  boundaries,  but  also  all  islands 
within  twenty  leagues  of  the  coast  were,  by  this  Koyal 
feofi'ment,  conveyed  "for  the  better  support  of  the  Colony."* 

During  the  first  year  of  the  foundation  of  the  Colony,  Mr. 
Oglethorpe's  attention  was  directed  to  providing  for  the 
emigrants  suitable  homes  at  Savannah,  Joseph's  Town, 
Abercorn,  and  Old  Ebenezer,  to  concluding  necessary  trea- 
ties of  cession  and  amity  with  the  Natives,  and  the  erection 
of  a  fort  on  the  Great  Ogeechee  river  to  command  the  main 
passes  by  which  the  Indians  had  invaded  Carolina  during 
the  late  wars,  and  afford  the  settlers  some  security  against 
anticipated  incursions  from  the  Spaniards.  This  fortified 
post, — as  a  compliment  to  his  honored  patron  John,  Duke  of 

*  See  Copy  of  Charter,  McCall's  History  of  Georgia,  Vol.  i,  p.  329  et  seq  :  Savannah,  1811. 

Reasons  for  establishing  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  &c.,  p.  29.    London,  1733, 

A  State  of  the  Province  of  Georgia  attested  upon  oath,  &c.,  p.  1.    London,  1742. 


48  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  01^  GEORG^tA. 

Argyle, — was  called  Fort  Arqyle,  and  was  garrisoned  by 
Captain  McPherson  and  his  detachment  of  Kangers.  At 
this  time  no  English  plantations  had  been  established  south 
of  the  Great  Ogeechee  river.  Having  confirmed  the  Colon- 
ists in  their  occupation  of  the  right  bank  of  the  Savannah, 
and  engaged  the  friendship  of  the  venerable  Indian  Chief, 
Tomo-chi-chi,  and  the  neighboring  Lower  Creeks  and 
lichees,  in  January,  1734,  Mr.  Oglethorpe  set  out  to  explore 
the  coast,  and  determine  upon  such  settlement  as  appeared 
most  advantageous  for  the  protection  of  the  southern  con- 
fines of  the  Colony.  During  a  heavy  rain  on  the  26th  of  that 
month,  he  and  his  party  landed  "  on  the  first  Albany  bluff 
of  St.  Simon's  island"  and  "lay  all  night  under  the  shelter 
of  a  large  live-oak-tree  and  kept  themselves  dry."  This  re- 
connoissance,  which  was  continued  as  far  as  the  sea-point  of 
St.  Simon's  island,  and  Jekyll  island,  convinced  Mr.  Ogle- 
thorpe it  was  expedient  and  necessary  for  the  proper  defence 
of  the  Colony  that  a  military  station  and  settlement  should 
be  formed,  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Alatamaha  river ;  and  that,  as  an  outpost,  a 
strong  fort  should  be  built  on  St.  Simon's  island. 

This  plan  was  in  part  compassed  in  January,  1735,  when 
one  hundred  and  thirty  Highlanders,  and  fifty  women  and 
children,  who  had  been  enrolled  for  emigration  at  Inverness 
and  its  vicinity,  arrived  at  Savannah,  and,  a  few  days  after- 
wards, were  conveyed  in  periaguas  to  the  southward.  As- 
cending the  Alatamaha  river  to  a  point  about  sixteen  miles 
above  St.  Simon's  island,  they  there  landed  and  entered  upon 
a  permanent  settlement,  which  they  called  New  Inverness. 
Here  they  erected  a  fort, — mounting  four  pieces  of  cannon, — 
built  a  guard-house,  a  store,  and  a  chapel,  and  constructed 
huts  for  temporary  accommodation  preparatory  to  putting 


FREDERlCJA.  49 

up  more  substantial  structures.  These  Scots  were  a  brave, 
hardy  people, — ^just  the  men  to  occupy  this  advanced  posi- 
tion. In  their  plaids,  and  with  their  broad-swords,  targets, 
and  firearms,  Oglethorpe  says  they  presented  "  a  most 
manly  appearance." 

Upon  their  arrival  in  Savannah  some  of  the  Carolinians 
endeavored  to  dissuade  them  from  going  to  the  southward 
by  telHng  them  that  the  Spaniards,  from  the  houses  in  their 
fort,  would  shoot  them  upon  the  spot  selected  by  the  Trus- 
tees for  their  future  home.  Nothing  daunted,  these  doughty 
countrymen  of  Bruce  and  Wallace  responded*  "we  will 
beat  them  out  of  their  fort  and  shall  have  houses  ready 
built  to  live  in."  This  vaHant  spirit  found  subsequent  ex- 
pression in  the  efi'ective  military  service  rendered  by  these 
Highlanders  during  the  wars  between  the  Colonists  and  the 
Spaniards,  and  by  their  decendants  in  the  primal  struggle 
for  independance.  To  John  Moore  Mcintosh,  Captain 
Hugh  MacKay,  Ensign  Charles  MacKay,  Colonel  John  Mc- 
intosh, General  Lachlan  Mcintosh,  and  their  gallant  follow- 
ers, Georgia,  both  as  a  Colony  and  a  State,  owes  a  special 
debt  of  gratitude. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1735,t  two  hundred  and  two 
persons,  upon  the  Trust's  account,  conveyed  in  the  Symond 
and  the  London  Merchant,  and  conducted  by  Oglethorpe  in 
person,  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  river.  It  was 
his  intention  to  locate  all  these  emigrants  at  St.  Simon's 
island,  but,  in  compliance  with  their  earnest  entreaty,  such 
of  them  as  were  German  Lutherans  were  permitted  to  join 


♦See  Letter  of  Gen'l  Oglethorpe  to  the  Trustees  under  date  February  27th,  1735-6.    Col- 
lectiouH  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Sofiety,  Vol.  in,  p.  1.5.    Savannah,  1873. 

t  A  Voyage  to  Georgia,  begun  in  the  year  173.5  by  Francis  Moore,  p.  17.    London  1744. 

Compare  Harris'  Complete  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  Vol.  ii,  p.  330.       London, 
1748. 

An  Account  Showing  the  Progress  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  &c.,  p.  20.    London,  1741. 
7 


50  ■  THE  DEAD   TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

their  friends  at  Ebenezer.  Upon  leaving  London  it  was  con- 
templated that  the  Symond  and  the  London  Merchant  should 
sail  directly  for  Jekyll  sound,  and  land  their  passengers  at 
the  point  where  it  was  proposed  that  the  new  town  should 
be  located.  The  timidity  of  the  captains,  however,  who,  in 
the  absence  of  experienced  pilots,  feared  the  dangers  of  an 
unknown  entrance,  caused  this  deviation  in  the  voyage. 

Having  engaged  the  services  of  fifty  Rangers  and  one 
hundred  workmen,  and  having  dispatched  Captain  McPher- 
son  with  a  part  of  his  command  to  march  by  land  to  the 
suppport  of  the  Highlanders  on  the  iV^latamaha,  Mr.  Ogle- 
thorpe who,  since  his  arrival,  had  been  busily  occupied  in 
arranging  matters  at  Savannah  and  Old  Ebenezer,  returned 
to  the  ships  which  were  still  lying  in  Tybee  roads.  Finding 
their  captains  unwilling  to  risk  their  ships  without  having 
previously  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  entrance  into  Jekyll 
sound,  he  bought  the  cargo  of  the  sloop  Midnight,  which  had 
just  arrived,  on  condition  that  it  should  be  at  once  delivered 
at  Fredrica,  and  with  the  understanding  that  captains  Cor- 
nish and  Thomas  should  go  on  board  of  her,  acquaint  them- 
selves with  the  coast  and  entrance,  and  then  return  and 
conduct  their  vessels  to  Frederica.  During  their  absence 
these  ships, — the  Symond  and  the  London  Merchant, — their 
cargoes  still  on  board, — were  to  remain  at  anchor  at  Tybee 
roads  in  charge  of  Francis  Moore,  who  was  appointed  keeper 
of  the  stores.  Mr.  Horton  and  Mr.  Tanner,  with  thirty 
single  men  of  the  Colony,  and  cannon,  arms,  ammunition 
and  entrenching  tools,  were  ordered  to  proceed  to  the  south- 
ward with  the  sloop  Midnight.  The  workmen  who  had  been 
engaged  at  Savannah,  and  Tomo-chi-chi's  Indians  were  di- 
rected to  rendezvous  at  convenient  points  whence  they 
might  be  transported  as  occasion  required.    The  sloop  sailed 


FREDERICA.  51 

for  St.  Simon's  island  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  and  at 
evening  of  the  same  day  Mr.  Oglethorpe  set  out  in  the  scout 
boat  to  meet  the  sloop  at  Jekyll  sound.  Captain  Hermsdorf, 
two  of  the  Colony,  and  some  Indians  went  with  him,  and 
Captain  Dunbar  accompanied  him  with  his  boat.  They 
passed  through  the  inland  channels  lying  between  the  outer 
islands  and  the  main.  "Mr.  Oglethorpe  being  in  haste," 
says  one  of  the  party,  "the  Men  rowed  Night  and  Day, 
and  had  no  other  Rest  than  what  they  got  when  a  Snatch 
of  Wind  favoured  us.  They  were  all  very  willing,  though 
we  met  with  very  boisterous  Weather.  **->«•  The 
Men  vied  with  each  other  who  should  be  forwardest  to 
please  Mr.  Oglethorpe.  Indeed  he  lightened  their  Fatigue 
by  giving  them  Refreshments,  which  he  rather  spared  from 
himself  than  let  them  want.  The  Indians  seeing  the  Men 
hard  laboured,  desired  to  take  the  Oars,  and  rowed  as  well 
as  any  I  ever  saw,  only  differing  from  the  others  by  taking 
a  short  and  long  Stroke  alternately,  which  they  called  the 
Yamasee  Stroke."  On  the  morning  of  the  18th  they  reached 
St.  Simon's  island  and  found  that  the  sloop  had  come  in 
ahead  of,  and  was  waiting  for  them.  Mr.  Oglethorpe  at 
once  set  all  hands  to  work.  The  tall  grass  growing  upon 
the  bluff  at  Frederica  was  burnt  off,  a  booth  was  marked 
out  "to  hold  the  stores, — digging  the  ground  three  Foot 
deep,  and  throwing  up  the  Earth  on  each  Side  by  way  of 
Bank, — and  a  roof  raised  upon  Crutches  with  Ridge-pole 
and  Rafters,  nailing  small  Poles  across,  and  thatching  the 
whole  with  Palmetto-leaves.  Mr.  Oglethorpe  afterwards 
laid  out  several  Booths  without  digging  under  Ground, 
which  were  also  covered  with  Palmetto  Leaves,  to  lodge 
the  Families  of  the  Colony  in  when  they  should  come  up ; 
each  of  these  Booths  was  between  thirty  and  forty  Foot 


62  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

long,  and  upwards  of  twenty  Foot  wide.  *  *  "We  all 
made  merry  that  Evening,  having  a  plentiful  Meal  of  Game 
brought  in  by  the  Indians. 

"  On  the  19fch,  in  the  Morning,  Mr.  Oglethorpe  began  to 
mark  out  a  Fort  with  four  Bastions,  and  taught  the  Men 
how  to  dig  the  Ditch,  and  raise  and  turf  the  Eampart.  This 
Day  and  the  following  Day  were  spent  in  finishing  the 
Houses,  and  tracing  out  the  Fort."  "^ 

Such  was  the  simple  beginning  of  Frederica.t  Near  the 
town  Mr.  Oglethorpe  fixed  the  only  home  he  ever  owned  in 
the  Province.  In  its  defence  were  enlisted  his  best  energies, 
military  skill,  and  valor.  Brave  are  the  memories  of  St. 
Simon's  island.  None  prouder  belong  to  the  colonial  history 
of  Georgia. 

Three  days  afterwards  arrived  from  Savannah  a  periagua 
with  workmen,  provisions,  and  cannon,  for  the  new  settle- 
ment. Captains  Cornish  and  Thomas  returned  from  the 
southward  to  Tybee  roads  on  the  26th  and,  although  assured 
of  the  fact  that  there  was  ample  water  for  the  conveyance 
of  their  vessels  to  Frederica,  still  refused  to  conduct  the 
Symond  and  the  London  Mejchant  to  the  southward.  Mr. 
Oglethorpe  was  consequently  compelled  to  consent  that  their 
cargoes  should  be  unloaded  into  the  ''Peter  and  James,'' 
which  could  not  carry  above  one  hundred  tons,  and  the  rest 
transferred  in  sloops  to  Savannah  for  safe  storage  until  such 
time  as  opportunity  ofi'ered  for  conveying  it  to  its  destination. 
He  was  also  put  to  the  great  inconvenience  of  collecting  peri- 
aguasj  sufiicient  for  the  transportation  of  the  Colonists. 

*  Moore's  Voyage  to  Georgia,  &c.,  p,  44.    London,  1744. 
t Named  by  Oglethorpe  after  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales. 

t  These  are  "long  flat-bottomed  boatp  carrying  from  20  to  35  Tons.  They  have  a  kind 
of  a  Forecastle  and  a  Cabbin  :  but  the  rest  open,  and  no  Deck.  They  have  two  Masts, 
■which  they  can  strike,  and  Sails  like  Schooners.    They  row  generally  with  two  Oars  only." 


FREDERICA.  53 

Much  incensed  at  the  conduct  of  the  Captains  of  the 
transports,  and  inconvenienced  by  the  demurrage  conse- 
quent upon  their  timidity,  he  was  also  indignant  at 
the  delay  thus  caused  in  the  consummation  of  his  plans, 
annoyed  at  the  additional  charges  for  transfer  of  passengers 
and  cargo,  and  solicitous  for  the  health  of  the  colonists 
who  would  be  exposed  in  open  boats,  at  an  inclement  season, 
during  the  passage  from  Tybee   roads   to  Jekyll  sound. 

It  was  not  until  the  2nd  of  March  that  the  fleet  of  peria- 
guas  and  boats,  with  the  families  of  tlie  Colonists  on  board, 
set  out  from  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  river.  Spare  oars 
had  been  rigged  for  each  boat.  With  their  assistance, — the 
men  of  the  Colony  rowing  with  a  will, — the  voyage  to  Fred- 
erica  was  accomplished  in  five  days.  Mr.  Oglethorpe  accom- 
panied them  in  his  scout-boat,  keeping  the  fleet  together, 
and  taking  the  hindermost  craft  in  tow.  As  an  incentive  to 
unity  of  movement,  he  placed  all  the  strong  beer  on  board 
one  boat.  The  rest  labored  diligently  to  keep  up ;  for,  if 
they  were  not  all  at  the  place  of  rendezvous  each  night,  the 
tardy  crew  lost  their  ration.  Frederica  was  reached  on  the 
8th,  and  there  was  general  joy  among  the  colonists. 

So  diligently  did  they  labor  in  building  their  town  and  its 
fortifications,  that  by  the  23rd  of  March  a  battery  of  cannon, 
commanding  the  river,  had  been  mounted,  and  the  fort  was 
almost  finished.  Its  ditches  had  been  dug,  although  not  to 
the  required  depth  or  width,  and  a  rampart  raised  and  cov- 
ered with  sod.  A  store-house,  having  a  front  of  sixty  feet, 
and  intended  to  be  three  stories  in  height,  was  completed  as 
to  its  cellar  and  first  story.  The  necessary  streets  were  all 
laid  out.  "  The  Main  Street  that  went  from  the  Front  into 
the  Country  was  25  yards  wide.  Each  Free-holder  had  60 
Foot  in  Front  by  90  Foot  in  Depth,  upon  the  high  Street, 


54  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

for  tlieir  House  and  Garden ;  but  those  which  fronted  the 
Eiver  had  but  30  Foot  in  Front,  by  60  Foot  in  Depth. 
Each  Family  had  a  Bower  of  Palmetto  Leaves,  finished 
upon  the  back  Street  in  their  own  Lands :  The  Side  towards 
the  front  Street  was  set  out  for  their  Houses  :  These  Pal- 
metto Bowers  were  very  convenient  Shelters,  being  tight  in 
the  hardest  Kains ;  they  were  about  20  Foot  long  and  14 
Foot  wide,  and,  in  regular  Rows,  looked  very  pretty,  the 
Palmetto  Leaves  lying  smooth  and  handsome,  and  of  a  good 
Colour.  The  whole  appeared  something  like  a  Camp ;  for 
the  Bowers  looked  liked  Tents,  only  being  larger  and  cover- 
ed with  Palmetto  Leaves  instead  of  Canvas.  There  were  3 
large  Tents,  two  belonging  to  Mr.  Oglethorpe,  and  one  to  Mr. 
Horton,  pitched  upon  the  Parade  near  the  River." 

Such  is  the  description  of  the  town  in  its  infancy  as  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Moore,  whose  "  Voyage  to  Georgia "  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  and  valuable  tracts  we  have  descrip- 
tive of  the  colonization. 

That  there  might  be  no  confusion  in  their  constructive 
labors,  Mr.  Oglethorpe  divided  the  Colonists  into  working 
parties.  To  some  was  assigned  the  duty  of  cutting  forks, 
poles,  and  laths  for  building  the  bowers.  Others  set  them 
up.  Others  still  gathered  palmetto  leaves,  while  a  fourth 
gang, — under  the  superintendence  of  a  Jew  workman,  bred 
in  Brazil  and  skilled  in  the  matter, — thatched  the  roofs 
"  nimbly  and  in  a  neat  manner." 

Men  accustomed  to  the  agriculture  of  the  region,  in- 
structed the  Colonists  in  hoeing  and  planting.  Potatoes, 
Lidian  corn,  flax,  hempseed,  barley,  turnips,  lucern-grass, 
pumpkins,  and  water-melons  were  planted.  The  labor  was 
common  and  enured  to  the  benefit  of  the  entire  community. 
As  it  was  rather  too  late  in  the  season  to  prepare  the  ground 


FREDERICA.  55 

fully  and  get  in  such  a  crop  as  would  promise  a  yield  suffi- 
cient to  subsist  the  settlement  for  the  coming  year,  many 
of  the  men  were  put  upon  pay  and  set  to  work  upon  the 
fortifications  and  the  pubHc  buildings. 

Mr.  Hugh  MacKay,  about  this  time,  arrived  in  Frederica 
and  reported,  that  with  the  assistance  of  Messrs.  Augustine 
and  Tolme,  and  the  guides  furnished  by  Tomo-chi-chi,  he  had 
surveyed  and  located  a  road,  practicable  for  horses,  between 
Savannah  and  Darien.  This  information  was  very  gratifying 
to  the  Colonists  on  St.  Simons,  assuring  them,  as  it  did,  that 
their  situation  was  not  so  isolated  as  they  at  first  supposed. 

Frederica  was  located  in  the  midst  of  an  Indian  field*  con- 
taining between  thirty  and  forty  acres  of  cleared  land.  The 
grass  in  this  field  yielded  an  excellent  turf  which  was  freely 
used  in  sodding  the  parapet  of  the  fort.  The  bluff  upon 
which  it  stood  rose  about  ten  feet  above  high-water  mark, 
was  dry  and  sandy,  and  exhibited  a  level  expanse  of  about  a 
mile  into  the  interior  of  the  island.  The  position  of  the 
fort  was  such  that  it  fully  commanded  the  reaches  in  the 
river  both  above  and  below.  With  their  situation  the  Colo- 
nists were  delighted.     The  harbor  was  land-locked, t  having 

=*=The  Aborigines  cleared  considerable  spares  on  the  Sea  Islands  along  the  Georgia  Coast, 
planting  them  with  maize,  pumpkins,  gourds,  beans,  melons,  &c.  These  indications  of 
early  agriculture  were  not  infrequent  in  various  portions  of  the  State.  The  richest 
localities  were  selected  by  the  Aborigines  for  cultivation  :  their  principal  towns  and 
maize-fields  being  generally  found  in  rich  valleys  where  a  generous  soil  yielded,  with 
least  labor,  the  most  remunerative  harvest.  The  trees  were  killed  by  girdling  them  by 
means  of  stone  axes.  They  then  decayed  and  fell  piecemeal.  So  old  were  these  Indian 
fields  that  in  them  no  traces  appeared  of  the  ipots  and  stumps  even  of  the  most  durable 
trees.  The  occupancy  of  these  islands  by  the  Red  race  was  general  and  of  long  duration. 
Prominent  bluffs  are  to  this  day  marked  by  their  refuse  heaps,  composed  chiefly  of  the 
shells  of  oysters,  conchs,  and  clams,  and  the  bones  of  the  animals,  reptiles,  birds,  and 
fishes  upon  which  they  subsisted,  intermingled  with  sherds  of  pottery,  and  broken 
articles,  and  relics  of  varioiis  sorts.  Many  localities  are  hoary  with  ancient  shell-mounds, 
while  sepulchral  tumuli  of  earth  are  not  infrequent.  Besides  the  primitive  population 
permanently  domiciled  on  these  islands,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  large  numbers  of 
Indians  from  the  main  here  congregated  and  spent  much  time  in  hunting  and  fishing. 

t  An  Impartial  Enquiry  into  the  State  and  Utility  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  pp. 
40  and  41.    London.  1741. 


56  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OP  GEORGIA. 

a  depth  of  twenty-two  feet  of  water  at  the  bar,  and  capable 
of  affording  safe  anchorage  to  a  large  number  of  ships  of 
considerable  burden.  Surrounded  by  beautiful  forests  of 
live-oak,  water  oaks,  laurel,  bay,  cedar,  sweet-gum,  sassafras, 
and  pines,  festooned  with  luxuriant  vines,  [among  which 
those  bearing  the  Fox-grape  and  the  Muscadine  were  pecu- 
liarly pleasing  to  the  Colonists,]  and  abounding  in  deer, 
rabbits,  raccoons,  squirrels,  wild-turkeys,  turtle-doves,  red- 
birds,  mocking  birds,  and  rice  birds,^  with  wide  extended 
marshes  frequented  by  wild  geese,  ducks,  herons,  curlews, 
cranes,  plovers,  and  marsh-hens, — the  adjacent  waters  teem- 
ing with  fishes,  crabs,  shrimps,  and  oysters,  and  the  island 
fanned  by  South-East  breezes  prevailing  with  the  regularity 
of  the  trade  winds — the  strangers  were  charmed  with  their 
new  home.  Within  their  fort  were  enclosed  and  preserved 
several  of  those  grand  old  live-oaks  which  for  centuries  had 
crowned  the  bluff,  and  whose  shade  was  refreshing  beyond 
any  shelter  the  hand  of  man  could  devise.  The  town 
sprang  into  being  as  a  military  post.  It  was  ordered  and 
grew  day  by  day  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  Ogle- 
thorpe. The  soil  of  the  island  was  fertile,  and  its  health 
unquestioned.  Lieutenant  George  Dunbar,  on  the  20th  of 
January,  1739,  made  oath  before  Francis  Moore,  Kecorder 
of  the  Town  of  Frederica,  that  since  his  arrival  with  the 
first  detachment  of  Colonel  Oglethorpe's  regiment  the  pre- 
ceding June,  all  the  carpenters  and  many  of  the  soldiers  had 
been  continuously  occupied  in  building  clap-board  huts, 
carrying  lumber  and  bricks,  unloading  vessels,  [often  work- 
ing up  to  their  necks  in  water,]  in  clearing  the  parade,  burn- 
ing wood  and  rubbish,  making  lime,  and  in  other  out-door 
exercises, — the   hours   of   labor  being  from   dayhght   until 

*  Buffalo  and  quail  were  found  on  the  Main. 


FREBERICA.  57 

eleven  or  twelve  M.  and  from  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  until  dark.  Despite  these  exposures,  continues 
the  Affiant,  "All  the  time  the  men  kept  so  healthy  that  often 
no  man  in  the  camp  ailed  in  the  least,  and  none  died  except 
one  man  who  came  sick  on  board  and  never  worked  at  all ; 
nor  did  I  hear  that  any  of  the  men  ever  made  the  heat  a 
pretence  for  not  working."^ 

Beyond  question  Frederica  was  the  healthiest  of  all  the 
early  settlements  in  Georgia,  and  St.  Simon's  island  has 
always  enjoyed  an  en\aable  reputation  for  salubrity.  Until 
marred  by  the  desolations  of  the  late  war,  this  island  was  a 
favorite  summer  resort,  and  the  homes  of  the  planters  were 
the  abodes  of  beauty,  comfort,  and  refinement.  A  mean 
temperature  of  about  fifty  degrees  in  winter,  and  not  above 
eighty-two  degrees  in  summer,  gardens  adorned  with  choice 
flowers,  and  orchards  enriched  with  plums,  peaches,  necta- 
rines, figs,  melons,  pomegranates,  dates,  oranges  and  limes, — 
forests  rendered  majestic  by  the  live-oak,  the  pine,  and  the 
magnolia  grandiflora,  and  redolent  with  the  perfumes  of  the 
bay,  the  cedar  and  the  myi'tle, — the  air  fresh  and  buoyant 
with  the  South-East  breezes,  and  vocal  with  the  notes  of 
song-birds, — the  adjacent  sea,  sound,  and  inlets,  replete  with 
fishes, — the  shell  roads  and  broad  beach  affording  every 
facility  for  driving  and  riding, — the  woods  and  fields  abound- 
ing with  game  in  their  season,  and  the  culture  and  generous 
hospitality  of  the  inhabitants,  impressed  all  visitors  with 
the  dehghts  of  this  favored  spot.  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  among 
others,  alludes  with  marked  satisfaction  to  the  pleasures  he 
there  experienced. 


*  State  of  the  Province  of  Georgia  attested  upon  Oath,  &c.,  p.  25.    London,  1742. 

Compare  Affidavits  of  Lieut.  Raymond  Demare,  Hugh  MacKay,  and  John  Cuthbert,  to 
same  eftect. 

An  Impartial  Enquiry  into  the  State  and  Utility   of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  pp.  61, 
63,  64.     London,  1741. 
8 


58  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

Among  tlie  reptiles  which  not  only  attracted  the  notice  of, 
but,  to  a  considerable  degree,  upon  first  acquaintance,  dis- 
quieted the  early  Colonists,  the  alligators  were  the  most 
noted.  Listen  to  this  description  furnished  by  an  eye- 
witness* in  1736 :  "  They  are  terrible  to  look  at,  stretching 
open  an  horrible  large  Mouth,  big  enough  to  swallow  a  Man, 
with  Eows  of  dreadful  large  sharp  Teeth,  and  Feet  like  Drag- 
gons,  armed  with  great  Claws,  and  a  long  Tail  which  they 
throw  about  with  great  Strength,  and  which  seems  their  best 
Weapon,  for  their  Claws  are  feebly  set  on,  and  the  Stiffness 
of  their  Necks  hinders  them  from  turning  nimbly  to  bite."  In 
order  that  the  public  mind  might  be  disabused  of  the  terror 
which  pervaded  it  with  respect  to  these  reptiles,  Mr.  Ogle- 
thorpe, having  wounded  and  caught  one,  had  it  brought 
to  Savannah  and  made  the  boys  bait  it  with  sticks  and 
finally  pelt  and  beat  it  to  death. 

The  rattle  snakes,  too,  were  objects  of  special  dread. 

Leaving  his  people  busily  occupied  with  the  labors  as- 
signed to  them  at  Frederica,  Mr.  Oglethorpe  set  out  on  the 
18th  of  Marcht  for  the  frontiers,  "  to  see  where  his  Majesty's 
Dominions  and  the  Spaniards  joyn.":|:  He  was  accompanied 
by  "  Toma-Chi-Chi,  Mico,  and  a  Body  of  Indians,  who,  tho' 
but  few,  being  not  forty,  were  all  chosen  Warriors  and  good 
Hunters."  They  were  conveyed  in  two  Scout  Boats,  and 
the  next  day  were  joined  by  the  periagua,  commanded  by 
Captain  Hugh  MacKay,  with  thirty  Highlanders,  ten  men  of 
the  Independent  Company,  and  entrenching  tools  and  provi- 
sions on  board.     Upon  the  north-western  point  of  Cumber- 


*  Francis  Moore,  Voyage  to  Georgia,  &c.,  p.  57.    London,  1744. 

t  Moore  says  April.    See  A  Voyage  to  Georgia,  p.  63.    London,  1744. 

t  Oglethorpe's  letter  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  South  Carolina. 

Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  iir,  p.  28.    Savannah,  1873. 


FREDERICA.  69 

land  island*  washed  by  the  bay  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the 
other  by  the  channel  running  to  the  southward,  Oglethorpe 
marked  out  a  fort,  called  it  St.  Andrews,  and  left  Captain 
MacKay  with  his  command  to  build  it,  and  some  Indians  to 
hunt  and  shoot  for  them  while  thus  employed. 

Proceeding  on  his  voyage,  Mr.  Oglethorpe  named  the  next 
large  Island  to  the  South,  Amelia,t — "  it  being  a  beautiful 
Island,  and  the  Sea-shore  cover'd  with  Myrtle,  Peach-Trees, 
Orange-Trees,  and  Vines  in  the  wild  Woods."  Tomo-chi-chi 
conducted  him  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Johns,  pointed 
out  the  advanced  post  occupied  by  the  Spanish  Guard,  and 
indicated  the  dividing  hne.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  the 
old  chief  and  his  followers  could  be  restrained  from  making 
a  night  attack  upon  the  Spaniards,  upon  whom  they  thirsted 
to  take  revenge  for  the  killing  of  some  Indians  during  the 
Mico's  absence  in  England.  Stopping  at  fort  St.  Andrews 
on  his  way  back,  Oglethorpe  was  surprised  to  find  the  work 
in  such  a  state  of  "forwardness, — the  Ditch  being  dug,  and 
the  Parapet  raised  with  Wood  and  Earth  on  the  Land-side, 
and  the  small  Wood  clear'd  fifty  yards  round  the  Fort." 
This  seemed  the  more  extraordinary,  adds  Francis  Moore, 
because  Mr.  MacKay  had  no  engineer,  or  any  assistance 
other  than  the  directions  which  Mr.  Oglethorpe  gave.  The 
ground  consisting  of  loose  sand,  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to 
construct  the  parapets :  "  therefore  they  used  the  same 
Method  to  support  it  as  Caesar  mentions  in  the  Wars  of 
Gaul,  laying  Trees  and  Earth  alternately,  the  Trees  prevent- 


*  This  island  was  named  TFissoo  by  the  Indians,  signifying  Sassafras.  It  was  called 
Cumberland  in  memory  of  his  Royal  Highness,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Toouahowi, — nephew  of  Tomo-chi-chi, — to  whom,  during  his  visit  to  England,  the 
Duke  had  given  a  gold  repeating  watch,  that  he  "might  know  how  the  time  went." 
"  We  will  remember  him  at  all  times,"  said  Toonahowi,  "  and  therefore  will  give  this 
Island  this  name." 

t  Called  by  the  Spaniards  Santa  Maria. 


60  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEOKGIA. 

ing  the  Sand  from  falling,  and  the  Sand  the  Wood  from 
Eire." 

Upon  their  return  to  Frederica  the  Indians  encamped 
near  the  town,  and,  on  the  26th,  favored  Mr.  Oglethorpe  and 
all  the  people  with  a  War  Dance.  "They  made  a  Eing, 
in  the  middle  of  which  four  sat  down,  having  little  Drums 
made  of  Kettles,  cover'd  with  Deer-skins,  upon  which  they 
beat  and  sung :  Round  them  the  others  danced,  being  naked 
to  their  Waists,  and  round  their  Middles  many  Trinkets  tied 
with  Skins,  and  some  with  the  Tails  of  Beasts  hanging  down 
behind  them.  They  painted  their  Faces  and  Bodies,  and 
their  Hair  w  as  stuck  with  Feathers  :  In  one  Hand  they  had 
a  Battle,  in  the  other  Hand  the  Feathers  of  an  Eagle,  made 
up  like  the  Caduceus  of  Mercury  :  They  shook  these  Wings 
and  the  Rattle,  and  danced  round  the  Ring  with  high 
Bounds  and  antick  Postures,  looking  much  like  the  Figures 
of  the  Satyrs. 

"  They  shew'd  great  Activity,  and  kept  just  Time  in  their 
Motions ;  and  at  certain  times  answer'd  by  way  of  Chorus, 
to  those  that  sat  in  the  Middle  of  the  Ring.  They  stopt, 
and  then  stood  out  one  of  the  chief  Warriors,  who  sung 
what  Wars  he  had  been  in,  and  described  (by  Actions  as  well 
as  by  Words)  which  way  he  had  vanquish'd  the  Enemies  of 
his  Country.  When  he  had  done,  all  the  rest  gave  a  Shout 
of  Approbation,  as  knowing  what  he  said  to  be  true.  The 
next  Day  Mr.  Oglethorpe  gave  Presents  to  Toma-chi-chi  and 
his  Indians,  and  dismiss' d  them  with  Thanks  for  their 
Fidehty  to  the  King."^ 

For  the  further  protection  of  the  approaches  to  Frederica 
by  the  inland  passages,  a  strong  battery, — called  Fort  St. 
Simons, — was  erected  at  the  south  end  of  St.  Simons'  island. 

*  Moore's  Voyage  to  Georgia,  p.  71,    London,  1744. 


i 


FREDERICA.  f  61 

i 

It  was  designed  to  command  the  entrance  to  Jekyll  sound. 
Adjacent  to  it  was  laid  out  a  camp  containing  barracks  and 
huts  for  the  soldiers.  At  the  southern  extremity  of  Cumber- 
land island  Fort  William  was  afterwards  built  with  a  view 
to  controlling  Amelia  sound  and  the  inland  passage  to  St. 
Augustine.  Upon  San  Juan  island  to  the  south,  and  near 
the  entrance  of  the  St.  Johns  river,  Oglethorpe  had  observed 
the  traces  of  an  old  fort.  Thither  he  sent  Captain  Herms- 
dorf,  and  a  detachment  of  Highlanders,  with  instructions  to 
repair  and  occupy  it.  Having  ascertained  that  this  island 
was  included  in  the  cession  of  lands  made  by  the  Indians  to 
his  Majesty,  he  named  the  island  George,  and  called  the 
fortification  fort  St.  George.  With  the  exception  of  one  or 
two  posts  of  observation,  this  constituted  the  most  southern 
defense  of  the  Colony,  and  was  regarded  as  an  important 
position  for  holding  the  Spaniards  in  check,  and  for  giving 
the  earhest  intelligence  of  any  hostile  demonstration  on 
their  part.*  The  energy  and  boldness  displayed  by  the  Com- 
mander in  Chief  in  developing  his  line  of  occupation  so  far  to 
the  south,  and  in  the  very  teeth  of  the  Spaniards  in  Florida, 
are  quite  remarkable,  and  indicate  on  his  part  not  only  a 
daring  bordering  upon  rashness,  but  also  no  little  confidence 
in  the  courage  and  firmness  of  the  small  garrisons  detailed 
to  fortify  and  hold  these  advanced  and  isolated  positions. 
Returning  to  Frederica  fi*om  this  tour  of  observation,  Mr. 
Oglethorpe  found  the  workmen  busily  occupied  in  construct- 
ing the  fort,  whose  outer  works  were  being  "  palisaded  with 
t Cedar  Posts  to  prevent  our  Enemies  turning  up  the  green 
Sod."     Upon  the  bastions,  platforms  of  two  inch  plank  were 


*0n  the  South-west  side  of  Cumberland  island,  and  upon  a  high  neck  of  land  command- 
ing the  water  approaches  each  way.  Fort  St.  Andrews  was  subsequently  built.  "  Its 
walls  were  of  wood,  filled  in  with  earth.    Round  about  were  a  ditch  and  a  palisade. "t 

t  Wesley's  Journal,  p.  61.    Bristol,  n.  d. 


62  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

laid  for  the  cannon.  A  piece  of  marsh  lying  below  the  fort 
was  converted  into  a  water  battery,  called  "the  Spur,"  the 
guns  of  which, — being  on  a  level  with  the  water, — were 
admirably  located  for  direct  and,  effective  operation  against 
all  vessels  either  ascending  or  descending  the  river. 

A  well  was  dug  within  the  fort  which  yielded  an  abundant 
supply  of  "tolerable  good  water."  The  people  having  no 
bread,  and  the  store  of  biscuits  being  needed  for  the  crews 
of  the  boats  which  were  kept  constantly  moving  from  point 
to  point,  an  oven  was  built,  and  an  indented  servant, — a 
baker  by  trade, — was  detailed  to  bake  bread  for  the  Colony. 
For  the  flour  furnished  by  each  individual  an  equal  weight 
was  returned  in  bread,  "the  difference  made  by  the  water  and 
salt"  being  the  baker's  gain.  This  fresh  bread,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  one  who  partook  of  it,  was  a  great  comfort  to  the 
people.  Yenison  brought  in  by  the  Indians  was  frequently 
issued  in  lieu  of  salt  provisions ;  and  poultry,  hogs,  and  sheep 
were  occasionally  killed  for  the  sick.  Such  domestic  animals, 
however,  were,  at  that  early  period,  so  scarce  in  the  settle- 
ment, that  they  were  carefully  guarded  for  the  purpose  of 
breeding.  A  little  later,  live  stock  came  forward  in  abund- 
ance, by  boats  from  Port  Eoyal  and  Savannah. 

Grave  apprehensions  were  entertained  of  an  attack  from 
the  Spaniards,  and  Mr.  Oglethorpe  was  untiring  in  his  efforts 
to  place  the  southern  frontier  in  the  best  possible  state  of 
defense.  It  is  remarkable  how  much  was  accomplished 
under  the  circumstances.  His  energy  was  boundless,  his 
watchfulness  unceasing.  Scout  boats  were  constantly  on 
duty  observing  the  water  approaches  fi'om  the  south  as  far 
as  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Johns.  Indian  runners  narrowly 
watched  the  walls  of  St.  Augustine,  and  conveyed  intelligence 
of  every  movement  by  the  enemy.     Look-outs  were  main- 


FREDERICA.  63 

tained  at  all  necessary  points  to  give  warning  of  threatened 
danger.  Mr.  Bryan  and  Mr.  Barnwell  promised,  in  case 
Frederica  or  its  out-posts  were  attacked,  to  come  to  their 
support  with  a  strong  body  of  volunteers  from  Carolina. 
Chiefs  of  the  Cheehaws  and  the  Creeks  volunteered  their 
assistance. 

Acting  upon  the  belief  that  it  was  better  to  confront  the 
Spaniards  upon, the  confines  of  the  Colony  than  abide  the 
event  of  their  invasion,  volunteers. came  in  such  numbers 
from  Carolina  and  Georgia  that  General  Oglethorpe  was 
compelled  to  issue  orders  that  all  who  had  plantations 
should  remain  at  home  and  cultivate  them  until  actually 
summoned  to  arms. 

Hearing  a  report  that  the  Spaniards  were  intent  upon 
dislodging  the  settlers  from  Frederica,  Ensign  Delegal, 
taking  thirty  men  of  the  Independent  Company  under  his 
command,  and  rowing  night  and  day,  reached  Frederica  on 
the  10th  of  May  and  tendered  his  services.  Without  per- 
mitting them  to  land,  Oglethorpe  ordered  English  strong 
beer  and  provisions  on  board,  sent  a  present  of  wine  to 
Ensign  Delegal,  and,  upon  the  same  tide,  in  his  scout  boat 
conducted  the  party  to  the  east  pointy  of  St.  Simons  island 
where  it  is  washed  by  Jekyll  sound,  and  there  posted  the 
company,  locating  a  spot  for  constructing  a  fort,  and  com- 
manding a  well  to  be  dug.  By  the  16th,  Ensign  Delegal  had 
succeeded  in  casting  up  a  considerable  entrenchment  and  in 
mounting  several  cannon. 

This  post, — strengthened  on  the  8th  of  June  by  the  arrival 
of  Lieutenant  Delegal,  with  the  rest  of  the  Independent 
Company  and  thirteen  pieces  of  cannon  belonging  to  them, — 
was  subsequently  known  as  Delegal' s  Fort  at  the  Sea-point. 

The  workmen  at  Frecjerica  were  diligently  employed  in 


64  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OP  GEORGIA. 

building  a  powder  magazine  under  one  of  the  bastions  of 
the  fort.  It  was  made  of  heavy  timber  covered  with  several 
feet  of  earth.  The  construction  of  a  large  store-house,  a 
smith's  forge,  a  wheelwright's  shop,  and  a  corn-house  also 
engaged  their  attention.  The  men  capable  of  bearing  arms 
were  trained  in  military  exercises  each  day  by  Mr.  Mcintosh. 
The  Colonists  were  in  a  state  of  constant  alarm,  and  every- 
thing was  made  subservient  to  the  general  defense.  Even 
the  feeble  avowed  their  willingness  to  sacrifice  their  lives  in 
protecting  their  new  homes.  Inspired  by  the  intrepidity 
and  vigilance,  the  fearlessness  and  the  activity  of  the  Gen- 
eral,— who  was  constantly  on  the  move,  visiting  the  advanced 
works,  pressing  his  reconnoissances  even  within  the  enemy's 
lines,  and  making  every  available  disposition  of  men  and 
munitions  which  could  conduce  to  the  common  safety, — 
soldiers  and  citizens  kept  brave  hearts,  labored  incessantly 
and  cheerfully,  observed  a  sleepless  watch  upon  the  sea  and 
its  inlets,  and  stood  prepared  to  offer  stout  resistance  to  the 
Spaniard.  It  was  a  manly  sight,  that  little  colony  fearlessly 
planting  itseK  upon  island  and  headland,  separated  from 
all  substantial  support,  and  yet  extending  itself  on  land  and 
water  to  the  very  verge  of  hostile  lines  held  by  an  enemy 
greatly  superior  in  men  and  the  appliances  of  warfare. 

This  state  of  uncertainty  and  alarm  continued  along  J}he 
southern  frontier  of  Georgia  until,  by  conference  between 
Mr.  Oglethorpe  and  the  Spanish  Commissioners  in  Jekyll 
sound  on  the  19th  of  June,  there  occurred  an  amicable 
adjustment  of  pending  disputes.  The  healths  of  the  King 
and  Royal  Family  of  Great  Britain,  and  of  the  King  and 
Queen  of  Spain,  were  drank  amid  salvos  of  artillery  from 
the  sloop  Hawk  and  the  Sea-Point  Battery ;  and  when  the 
Spaniards  set  out  on  the  22d  to  return  to  St.  Augastine,  they 


i 


FREDERICA.  65 

expressed  themselves  pleased  with  their  reception  and 
amicably  inclined  towards  the  Colony  and  its  knightly 
General.  This  period  of  tranquility  was  of  but  shoi*t  dura- 
tion. In  the  fall  of  the  year  a  peremptory  demand  was 
made  by  the  Spanish  Government  for  the  evacuation  by  the 
Enghsh  of  all  territory  lying  south  of  St.  Helena's  sound. 

Perceiving  that  vigorous  measures  and  a  stronger  force 
were  requisite  for  the  preservation  of  the  Colony,  and 
yielding  to  the  solicitations  of  the  Trustees  that  he  should  be 
present  at  the  approaching  meeting  of  Parliament  to  in- 
fluence larger  supplies  for  Georgia,  Mr.  Oglethorpe,  having 
made  the  best  possible  arrangements  for  the  government 
and  protection  of  the  province  during  his  absence,  embarked 
for  England  on  the  29th  of  November,  1736.* 

During  his  absence  in  England,  nothing  of  special  moment 
transpired  on  the  southern  fi'ontiers.  Mr.  Horton  appears 
to  have  been  left  in  general  charge  of  the  defenses  in  that 
quarter.  He  established  himself  at  Frederica,  whence  he 
made  frequent  tours  of  inspection  to  its  out-posts  and  de- 
pendent works.  Of  a  visit  which  he  paid  to  the  town  early 
in  February,  1737,  Mr.  Stephens,  Secretary  of  the  Colony, 
gives  us  rather  a  stupid  account,t  from  which  we  gather  that 
the  inhabitants  were  living  "in  perfect  Peace  and  Quiet, 
without  Fear  of  any  Disturbance  from  Abroad,  and  without 
any  Strife  or  Contention  at  Law.  at  Home,  where  they 
sometimes  opened  a  Court,  but  very  rarely  had  any  Thing  to 
do  in  it."  Only  slight  improvements  had  been  made  during 
the  preceding  year  in  clearing  and  cultivating  land,  because 
>f  the  constant  apprehension  of  incursion  by  the  Spaniards, 


*  See  Wright's  Memoir  of  Gen'l  James  Oglethorpe,  p.  167.    London,  1867. 
tSee  A  Journal  of  the  Proceedings  in  Georgia,  &c.,  vol.  i,  p.  98.    London,  1742. 
9 


6Q  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OE  GEORGIA. 

and  the  amount  of    military  service  the    able-bodied  men 
were  obliged  to  perform. 

Moved  by  the  indications  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  yielding  to  the  entreaties  of  the  Trustees* 
that  additional  troops  be  provided  for  the  protection  of  the 
Colony,  his  Majesty,  in  June,  1737,  appointed  Oglethorpe 
General  of  all  forces  in  Carolina  as  well  as  in  Georgia,  and 
authorized  him  to  raise  a  regiment.  In  October  of  that  year, 
and  before  his  regiment  had  been  fully  recruited,  he  was 
commissioned  as  Colonel.  The  relief  of  Georgia  being  re- 
garded as  important,  a  body  of  troops  was  sent  thither  from 
Gibraltar,  which  reached  Savannah  early  in  May,  1738,  and 
was  transferred  from  that  point  to  the  South  for  the  defense 
of  the  frontiers.  The  famous  clergyman  George  Whitefield, 
detailed  to  take  Mr.  Wesley's  place  in  the  Colony,  was  a 
passenger  on  board  the  ship  in  which  these  soldiers  were 
transported.  About  the  same  time  two  or  three  companies 
of  the  General's  own  regiment,  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  James  Cochrane,  arrived  in  Charleston, 
and  were  marched  southward  by  the  road  which  ran  from 
Port  Royal  to  Darien.t  Oglethorpe's  regiment  was  limited 
to  six  companies  of  one  hundred  men  each,  exclusive  of  non- 
commissioned officers  and  drummers.  To  it  a  grenadier 
company  was  subsequently  attached.  Disdaining  to  "  make 
a  market  of  the  service  of  his  country  "  by  selling  commis- 
sions, the  General  secured  the  appointment,  as  officers,  only 
of  such  persons  as  were  gentlemen  of  family  and  character  in 
their  respective  counties.  He  also  engaged  about  twenty 
young  gentlemen  of  no  fortune  to  serve  as  cadets.  These 
he  subsequently  promoted  as  vacancies  occurred.     So   far 

*  See  one  of  the  Memorials  of  the  Trustees  in  ''An  Account  Shewing  the  Progress  of  the 
Colony  of  Georgia,"  &c.,  p.  58.    London,  1741. 
t  See  Wright's  Memoir  of  Oglethorpe,  p,  191.    London,  1867. 


FREDERICA.  67 

from  deriving  any  pecuniary  benefit  from  these  appoint- 
ments, the  General,  in  some  cases,  from  his  private  fortune 
advanced  the  fees  requisite  to  procure  commissions,  and 
provided  moneys  for  the  purchase  of  uniforms  and  clothing. 
x4.t  his  own  expense  he  engaged  the  services  of  forty  super- 
numeraries,— "a  circumstance,"  says  a  contemporaneous 
writer,  "very  extraordinary  in  our  armies,  especially  in  our 
plantations." 

In  order  to  engender  in  the  hearts  of  the  enlisted  men 
an  interest  in  and  an  attachment  for  the  Colony  they  were 
designed  to  defend,  and  with  a  view  to  induce  them  even- 
I  tually  to  become  settlers,  permission  was  granted  to  each  to 
take  a  wife  with  him.  For  the  support  of  the  wife,  addi- 
tional pay  and  rations  were  provided.*  So  carefully  was 
this  regiment  recruited  and  officered,  that  it  constituted  one 
of  the  best  military  organizations  in  the  service  of  the  King. 

Saihng  from  Portsmouth  on  the  5th  of  July,  1738,  with 
the  rest  of  his  regiment, — numbering,  with  the  women, 
f  children,  and  supernumeraries  who  accompanied,  between 
six  and  seven  hundred  souls, — in  five  transports  convoyed 
by  the  men  of  war  Blandford  and  Hector,  General  Ogle- 
thorpe arrived  safely  in  Jekyll  sound  on  the  18th  of  the 
following  September. t  The  next  day  the  troops  were  landed 
at  the  Soldiers  Fort,  on  the  south  end  of  St.  Simon's  island* 
This  ai>i'ival  was  welcomed  by  an  artillery  salute  from  the 
battery,  and  by  shouts  from  the  garrison.  Upon  coming 
within  soundings  off  the  Georgia  coast  on  the  13th,  Sir 
Yelverton  Peyton,  in  the  Hector,  parted  company  and  sailed 
for  Virginia.     Until  the  21st,  the  General  encamped  near  the 

*  See  Harria"  Memorials  of  Oglethorpe,  pp.  188,  189.    Boston,  1841. 

WrighfH  Memoir  of  Oglethorpe,  p.  191.    London,  1867. 

Gentleman's  Magazine,  vol.  viii,  p.  164. 
t  Stephens'  Journal  of  Proceedings,  vol.  i,  pp.  294,  295.    London,  1742. 


68  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

Fort,  superintending  the  disembarcation  and  issuing  neces- 
sary orders.  His  regiment  was  now  concentrated,  and  every 
officer  is  represented  to  have  been  at  his  post. 

Frederica  was  visited  on  the  21st,  and  there  Oglethorpe 
was  saluted  with  fifteen  guns  from  the  fort.  The  Magis- 
trates and  towns-people  waited  upon  him  in  a  body,  tender- 
ing their  congratulations  upon  his  return.  Several  Indians 
were  present  who  assured  him  that  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Creeks  were  in  readiness  to  come  and  see  him  so  soon  as 
ihey  should  be  notified  of  his  presence.^  In  a  letterf  to  Sir 
Joseph  Jekyll,  under  date  19th  September,  1738,  General 
Oglethorpe,  alluding  to  the  fact  that  the  Spaniards,  although 
having  fifteen  hundred  men  at  St.  Augustine, — there  being 
nothing  but  the  militia  in  Georgia, — had  delayed  their  con- 
templated attack  until  the  arrival  of  the  Regular  Troops, 
acknowledges  that  God  had  thus  given  "  the  greatest  marks 
of  his  visible  Protection  to  the  Colony."  He  advises  Sir 
Joseph  that  the  passage  had  been  fine, — but  one  soldier 
having  died, — and  that  the  inhabitants  who  had  hitherto 
been  so  harrassed  by  Spanish  threats  were  now  cheerful,  be- 
lieving that  the  worst  was  over,  and  that, — relieved  from  the 
constant  guard  duty  which  they  had  been  compelled  to  per- 
form, some  times  two  days  out  of  five,  to  the  neglect  of  their 
crops  and  improvements, — they  might  now  prosecute  their 
labors  and  make  comfortable  provision  for  the  futui^e.  Re- 
alizing the  necessity  of  opening  direct  communication  be- 
tween Frederica  and  the  Soldiers  Fort  at  the  south  end  of 
the  island,  on  the  25th  General  Oglethorpe  set  every  male  to 
work  cutting  a  road  to  connect  those  points.  So  energeti- 
cally was  the  labor  prosecuted,  that  although  the   woods 


♦Gentleman's  Magazine  for  January,  1739.  p.  22. 

t Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  ui,  p.  i8.     Savannah,  1873. 


FKEDERICA.  69 

were  thick  auu  the  distance  nearly  six  miles,  the  task  was 
compassed  in  three  days. 

To  the  Honorable  Thomas  Spalding*  are  we  indebted  for 
the  following  description  of  this  important  avenue  of  com- 
munication :  "  This  road  after  passing  out  of  the  town  of 
Frederica  in  a  south-east  direction,  entered  a  beautiful 
prairie  of  a  mile  over,  when  it  penetrated  a  dense,  close  oak 
wood  ;  keeping  the  same  course  for  two  miles,  it  passed  to 
the  eastern  marsh  that  bounded  St.  Simon's  seaward.  Along 
this  marsh,  being  dry  and  hard,  no  road  was  necessary,  and 
none  was  made.  This  natural  highway  was  bounded  on  the 
east  by  rivers  and  creeks  and  impracticable  marshes  ;  it  was 
bounded  on  the  west,  (the  island  side)  by  a  thick  wood 
covered  with  p&lmetto  and  vines  of  every  character  so  as  to 
be  impracticable  for  any  body  of  men,  and  could  only  be 
traveled  singly  and  alone.  This  winding  way  along  the 
marsh  was  continued  for  two  miles,  when  it  again  passed  up 
to  the  high  land  which  had  become  open  and  clear,  and  from 
thence  it  proceeded  in  a  direct  line  to  the  fort,  at  the  sea 
entrance,  around  which,  for  two  hundred  acres,  five  acre 
allotments  of  land  for  the  soldiers  had  been  laid  out,  cleared, 
and  improved.  I  have  again  been  thus  particular  in  my 
description,  because  it  was  to  the  manner  in  which  this  road 
was  laid  out  and  executed,  that  General  Oglethorpe  owed  the 
preservation  of  the  fort  and  town  of  Frederica.  *  *  * 
His  fort  and  batteries  at  Frederica  were  so  situated  as  to 
water  approaches,  and  so  covered  by  a  wood,  that  no  num- 
ber of  ships  could  injure  them.  And  he  now  planned  his 
land  route  in  such  a  manner,  that  again  the  dense  wood  of 
our  eastern  islands  became  a  rampart  mighty  to  save.      And 

*  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  General  James  Oglethorpe.    Collections  of  the  Georgia  Histori- 
cal Society,  vol.  i,  p  261.    Savannah,  1840. 


70  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

fifty  Highlanders  and  four  Indians  occupying  these  woods 
did  save." 

We  learn  from  that  admirable  "  History  of  the  Rise,  Pro- 
gress, and  Present  State  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,"  con- 
tained in  Dr.  Harris'  Complete  Collections  of  Voyages  and 
Travels,*  that  "on  the  arrival  of  the  Regiment  of  which  Mr. 
Oglethorpe  was  appointed  Colonel,  he  distributed  them  in  the 
properest  manner  for  the  Service  of  the  Colony ;  but  not- 
withstanding this  was  of  great  Ease  to  the  Trustees,  and  a 
vast  Security  to  the  Inhabitants,  yet  Colonel  Oglethorpe  still 
kept  up  the  same  Discipline,  and  took  as  much  Care  to  form 
and  regulate  the  Inhabitants  with  respect  to  military  Affairs 
as  ever.  He  provided  likewise  different  Corps  for  different 
Services ;  some  for  ranging  the  Woods  ;  others,  light  armed, 
for  sudden  Expeditions ;  and  he  likewise  provided  Vessels 
for  scouring  the  Sea  Coasts,  and  for  gaining  Intelligence. 
In  all  which  Services  he  gave  at  the  same  time  his  Orders 
and  his  Example ;  there  being  nothing  he  did  not  which  he 
directed  others  to  do ;  so  that  if  he  was  the  first  Man  in  the 
Colony,  his  Pre-eminence  was  founded  upon  old  Homer  s 
Maxims :  He  was  the  most  fatigued,  and  the  first  in  Danger, 
distinguished  by  his  Cares  and  his  Labours,  not  by  any 
exterior  Marks  of  Grandeur,  more  easily  dispensed  with, 
since  they  were  certainly  needless." 

The  finances  of  the  Trust  being  in  a  depressed  condition, 
the  General  drew  largely  upon  his  private  fortune  and 
pledged  his  individual  credit  in  conducting  the  operations 
necessary  for  the  security  of  the  southern  frontiers  and  in 
provisioning  the  settlers.  To  Alderman  Heathcote  he 
writes:  "I  am  here"  [at  Frederica]  "in  one  of  the  most 
delightful  situations    as    any    man  could  wish  to  be.       A 

*  Vol.  II,  p.  332.    London,  1748. 


FREDERIGA.  71 

great  number  of  Debts,  empty  magazines,  no  money  to 
supply  them,  numbers  of  people  to  be  fed,  mutinous  soldiers 
to  command,  a  Spanish  Claim  and  a  large  body  of  their 
Troops  not  far  from  us.  But  as  we  are  of  the  same  kind  of 
spirit,  these  Difficulties  have  the  same  effect  upon  me,  as 
those  you  met  with  in  the  City,  had  upon  you.  They  rather 
animate  than  daunt  me."^ 

Again,  on  the  16th  of  November,  1739,  he  advises  the 
Trustees  :t  "  I  am  fortifying  the  Town  of  Frederica  <t.  hope 
I  shall  be  repaid  the  Expences ;  from  whom  I  do  not  know, 
yet  I  could  not  think  of  leaving  a  number  of  good  houses 
and  Merch'ts  Goods  and,  which  was  more  valuable,  the 
Lives  of  Men,  Women  and  Children  in  an  open  Town  at  the 
mercy  of  every  Party,  and  the  Inhabitants  obliged  either  to 
fly  to  a  Fort  and  leave  their  Effects,  or  suffer  with  them." 

That  the  Trustees  might  be  fully  informed  of  the  condi- 
tion and  needs  of  the  Province,  Mr.  Horton, — who  com- 
manded the  Southern  Division  during  Oglethorpe's  ab- 
sence,— was  sent  to  London  about  the  close  of  the  year 
1739.  The  letter  J  of  advice  which  he  bore,  contains  an 
interesting  account  of  the  affairs  of  the  Colony.  In  it  Gen- 
eral Oglethorpe  states  that  his  Regiment  of  Foot  being 
unable  to  perform  garrison  duty  and  undertake  the  requisite 
marches  on  the  main  to  overtake  Indians  and  horsemen,  he 
had  been  compelled  to  associate  Indian  allies  whom  he  had 
armed,  supplied  with  ammunition,  fed,  and  clothed,  in  con- 
sideration of  their  services.  Sixty  Rangers,  to  act  as  scouts, 
had  been  recruited  and  mounted.  By  means  of  his  boats, 
and  the  Colony  Periagua, — which  had  been  fitted  out  with 
four  guns  and  a  crew  of  forty  men, — he  had  succeeded  in 

*  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  m,  p.  62.    Savannah,  1873. 

tidem,  p.  94. 

tSee  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  m,  pp.  97, 101.     Savannah,  1873. 


72  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

driving  the  Spaniards  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Johns 
river.  The  forts  having  been  originally  built  of  earth  and 
hastily  constructed,  had  fallen  sadly  out  of  repair.  To 
place  them  in  proper  condition  was  then  his  earnest  en- 
deavor. "Upon  the  Hostilities  being  committed,"  so  runs 
the  letter,  "  I  thought  I  should  be  answerable  for  the  blood 
of  these  people  before  God  and  man  if  I  had  left  them  open 
to  be  surprised  by  Spanish  Indians,  and  murdered  in  the 
night  and  their  houses  burnt,  and  if  I  did  not  take  all  proper 
means  for  their  defence,  they  being  under  my  charge." 
With  this  end  in  view,  he  resolved  to  enclose  the  town  of 
Frederica  with  fortifications.  This  defensive  work  is  thus 
described :  "  It  is  half  an  Hexagon  with  two  Bastions,  and 
two  half  Bastions  and  Towers,  after  Monsieur  Vauban's 
method,  upon  the  point  of  each  Bastion.  The  Walls  are  of 
earth  faced  with  Timber,  10  foot  High  in  the  lowest  place, 
and  in  the  highest  13,  and  the  Timbers  from  eight  inches  to 
twelve  inches  thick.  There  is  a  wet  Ditch  10  foot  wide,  and 
so  laid  out  that  if  we  had  an  allowance  for  it,  I  can  by 
widening  the  Ditch  double  the  thickness  of  the  Wall  and 
make  a  covered  way.  I  hope  in  three  months  it  will  be 
entirely  finished,  and  in  that  time  not  only  to  fortify  here 
but  to  repair  the  Forts  on  A.melia  and  Saint  Andrews.  The 
Expence  of  these  small  above  mentioned  Works,  which  is  all 
that  I  can  now  make,  will  not  be  great.  Frederica  will  come 
within  £500,  St.  Andrews  £400,  and  Amelia  £100."^ 

In  the  midst  of  his  multifarious  engagements  and  per- 
plexities, in  which  General  Oglethorpe  exhibited  the  highest 
executive  ability,  and  an  activity  and  self  abnegation  worthy 
of  all  admiration,  he  was  embarrassed  by  treachery  within 


*  Compare  Harris'  Complete  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  vol.  ii,  p.  331.    London, 
1748. 


t'REDERICA.  73 

his  camp  which  well  nigh  eventuated  in  the  most  serious 
consequences.  A  plan, — set  on  foot  by  one  of  the  soldiers 
who  had  been  in  the  Spanish  service, — to  murder  the  officers 
and  escape  to  the  enemy  with  such  plunder  as  could  be 
secured,  was  discovered  in  time  to  prevent  its  execution. 
The  ring- leaders  were  tried,  convicted,  whipped,  and  drum- 
med out  of  the  regiment. 

Early  in  November,  1738,  General  Oglethorpe  took  up  his 
temporary   quarters   at   Fort   St.    Andrew,   on   Cumberland 
island,  that  he  might  personally  superintend  and  encourage 
fc     the  construction  of  the  miHtary  defenses  which  were  being 
■      there  erected.      This  island  was  then  garrisoned  by  the  com- 
panies which  had  been  detailed  from  Gibraltar.     In  addition 
to  their  pay  these  troops,  for  a  limited  period  after  their 
arrival  in  Georgia,  had  been  allowed  extra  provisions  from 
the  King's  store.     When,  in  November,  these  rations  were 
discontinued,  conceiving  themselves  wronged  and  defrauded 
of  their  rights,  the  men  became  dissatisfied.     As  the  General 
B  was  conversing  at  the  door  of  his  hut  with  Captain  MacKay, 
a  turbulent  fellow  had  the  temerity  to  come  up  unannounced 
and  demand  a  renewal  of  the  allowance.     Oglethorpe  replied 
that  the  terms  of  enlistment  had  been  fully  complied  with : 
and  that  if  he  desired  any  favor  at  his  hand  such  rude  and 
disrespectful  behavior  was  not  calculated  to  secure  a  favor- 
able consideration  of  his  application.     The  fellow  thereupon 
became  outrageously  insolent.     Captain  MacKay  drew  his 
sword,  which  the  desperado  wrested  from  him,  broke  in  half, 
and,  having  thrown  the  hilt  at  that  officer's  head,  rushed 
away  to  the  barracks.     There  snatching  up  a  loaded  guif 
and  crying  aloud  "  One  and  All,"  he  ran  back,  followed  by 
five  or  more  of  the  conspirators,  and  fired  at  the  General. 
Being  only  a  few  paces  distant,  the  ball  whizzed  close  by 


74  THE  DEA.D  TOWNS   OP  GEOllGlA. 

Oglethorpe's  ear,  while  the  powder  scorched  his  face  and 
singed  his  clothes.  Another  soldier  presented  his  piece  and 
attempted  to  discharge  it.  Fortunately  it  missed  fire.  A 
third  drew  his  hanger  and  endeavored  to  stab  the  General, 
who,  however,  having  by  this  time  unsheathed  his  sword, 
parried  the  thrust.  An  officer  coming  up  j-an  the  ruffian 
through  the  body.  Frustrated  in  their  attempt  at  assassina- 
tion, the  mutineers  sought  safety  in  flight,  but  were  appre- 
hended and  put  in  irons.  After  trial  by  court  martial  the 
ring-leaders  were  found  guilty  and  shot.^ 

Thus  wonderfully  was  the  General  preserved  for  the 
important  trusts  committed  to  his  care,  and  so  narrowly 
was  a  calamity  averted  which  would  have  plunged  the 
Colony  into  the  depths  of  uncertainty  and  peril.  Had 
she  been  deprived,  at  this  trying  moment,  of  Oglethorpe's 
guidance,  Georgia,  feeble  and  uncertain,  would  have  been 
left   well-nigh   naked   to   her   enemies. 

Spanish  emissaries  from  St.  Augustine  endeavored  to 
inaugurate  an  insurrection  among  the  negroes  of  South 
Carolina.  To  them  freedom  and  protection  were  prom- 
ised. Every  inducement  was  offered  which  could  encour- 
age not  only  desertion  from,  but  also  massacre  of  their 
owners.  Of  the  run-away  slaves  the  Governor  of  Florida 
had  formed  a  regiment,  appointing  officers  from  among 
them,  and  placing  both  officers  and  enlisted  men  upon 
the  pay  and  rations  allowed  to  the  regular  Spanish 
soldiers.      Of    this    fact    the    Carolina    negroes   were    ad- 

*  Compare  Gentleman's  Magazine,  vol.  ix,  pp.  214,  215. 

Stephens'  Journal  of  Proceedings,  vol.i,  p.  326.    London,  1742. 

McCall's  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  124,  125,    Savannah,  1811. 

Hewitt's  Historical  Account  of,  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Colonies  of 

South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  vol.  ii,  pp.  70,  71.    London,  1779. 
Stevens'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  154, 155.    New  York,  1847. 
Wright's  Memoir  of  Oglethorpe,  pp.  204,  205.     London,  18G7. 
Harris'  Biographical  Memorials  of  Oglethorpe,  pp.  194, 195,  369.  Boston,  1841. 


FREDERICA.  75 

vised.^  The  pernicious  influence  of  such  tampering  with 
this  servile  population  may  be  more  readily  conjectured 
than  described.  Thus  did  Spain  gi-ow  daily  more  and 
more  offensive  in  the  development  of  her  plans  for  the 
destruction  of  the  English  Colonies  adjacent  to  her 
possessions  in  Florida.  To  the  vigilance  of  Oglethorpe 
is  Carolina  largely  indebted  for  her  escape  from  the 
horrors   of   a   ser\dle   insurrection. t 

By  his  personal  interview  with  the  Indians  at  Coweta 
town,  Oglethorpe  had  secured  the  good  will  of  the 
Creeks,  the  Cousees,  the  Tallapousees,  the  Cowetas,  the 
Choctaws  and  the  Chickesas,  thus  thwarting  the  machi- 
nations of  the  Spanish  and  French,  and  relieving  the 
Colony  from  apprehensions  of  a  most  serious  character. 
His  energies  were  all  directed  to  a  careful  preparation 
to  meet  the  Spanish  storm  which  was  gathering  and 
almost  ready  to  burst  upon  the  southern  frontier  of  the 
Province.  Keferring  to  this  perilous  and  protracted  jour- 
ney performed  by  General  Oglethorpe  to  propitiate  these 
Indian  tribes  and  secure  fi-om  them  pledges  whose  ob- 
servance was  essential  to  the  continuance  of  the  Colony, 
Mr.  Spaldingt  justly  remarks,  "When  we  call  into  re- 
membrance the  then  force  of  these  tribes, — for  they 
could  have  brought  into  the  field  twenty  thousand  fight- 
ing men, — when  we  call  to  remembrance  the  influence 
the  French  had  everywhere  else  obtained  over  the  In- 
dians,— when  we  call  to  remembrance  the  distance  he 
had  to   travel   through   solitary  pathways   from   Frederica, 

*  See  McCall's  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i.,  pp.  125,  126.    Savannah,  1811. 

t  Hewitt's  Account  of  the  Kise  and  Progress  of  the  Colonies  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  72-74.    London,  1779. 

t  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  General  James  Oglethorpe.  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical 
Society,  vol.  i,  p.  263.    Savannah,  1840. 


76  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

exposed  to  summer  suns,  night  dews,  and  to  the  treachery 
of  any  single  Indian  who  knew,  and  every  Indian  knew, 
the  rich  rew^ard  that  would  have  awaited  him  for  the 
act  from  the  Spaniards  in  St.  Augustine  or  the  French 
in  Mobile ;  surely  we  may  proudly  ask  what  soldier  ever 
gave  higher  proof  of  courage?  What  gentleman  ever  gave 
greater  evidence  of  magnanimity  ?  What  English  gov- 
ernor of  an  American  province  ever  gave  such  assur- 
ance  of  deep   devotion   to   public   duty?" 

But  for  this  manly  conference  with  the  Red  men  in 
the  heart  of  their  own  country,  and  the  admiration 
with  which  his  presence,  courage,  and  bearing  inspired 
the  assembled  Chiefs,  Oglethorpe  could  not  have  com- 
passed the  pacification  and  secured  that  treaty  of  amity 
so  essential  to  the  welfare  of  the  Colony  now  on  the 
eve  of  most  serious  difficulties  with  the  Spaniards  in 
Florida. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  1739,  at  his  little  town  four 
miles  from  Savannah,  the  venerable  Tomo-chi-chi, — Ogle- 
thorpe's earliest  and  best  friend  among  the  Indians, — 
yielding  to  the  effects  of  a  lingering  illness,  died  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety-seven  years.  The  General  acted 
as  one  of  the  pall-bearers,  and  the  body  of  the  old 
Chief,  in  accordance  with  his  wish,  was  interred,  with 
becoming  honors,  in  one  of  the  public  squares  in  Sa- 
vannah. In  his  last  moments  he  expressed  no  little 
concern  that  he  w^as  about  to  be  taken  away  at  a  time 
when  his  services  might  prove  of  special  value  to  his 
friends,  the  EngHsh,  against  the  Spaniards,  and  coun- 
seled his  people  never  to  forget  the  favors  he  had 
received,   when  in  England,   from   the   King,  and  to   per- 


FREDERICA.  •  77 

severe  in  their  amicable  relations  with  the  colonists.* 
These  injunctions  were  not  unheeded.  Toonahowi — the 
favorite  nephew  of  the  aged  Mico — accompanied  General 
Oglethorpe  in  his  expedition  against  St.  Augustine ;  and 
again,  leading  a  party  of  Creek  Indians,  brought  off 
from  the  very  walls  of  that  city  Don  Komualdo  Kuiz 
del  Moral,  lieutenant  of  Spanish  horse  and  nephew  to 
the  late  governor  of  Florida,  and  delivered  him  a  pris- 
oner to  Oglethorpe.  During  the  memorable  and  success- 
ful resistance  maintained  when  St.  Simon's  island  was 
attacked  by  the  Spaniards  in  1742,  this  brave  Indian, 
illustrating  the  valor,  personal  courage,  and  friendship 
which  characterized  his  distinguished  uncle,  remained 
firm  in  his  attachment  to  the  colonists  and  rendered 
valuable  military  service.  On  the  7th  of  July,  although 
wounded  in  the  right  arm  by  Captain  Mageleto,  he 
drew  his  pistol  with  the  left,  and  shot  the  Captain  dead 
on  the  spot.  This  brave  warrior  and  faithful  ally  was 
finally  killed  in  1743,  at  Lake  di  Papa,  while  valiantly 
fighting   for   the   English   against   the   Yemasee  Indians. t 

The  disputes  existing  between  England  and  Spain  cul- 
minated in  a  declaration  of  war  in  October,  1739.  On 
the  15th  of  November  intelligence  was  brought  to  Frede- 
^rica  that  a  party  of  Spaniards  had  recently  landed  on 
[Amelia  island  in  the  night,  and,  concealing  themselves 
the   woods,   had.   on    the    ensuing    morning,    shot    two 

♦See  Stephens'  Journal  of  Proceedings,  etc.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  153.    London,  1742. 

Gentleman's  Magazine,  vol.  x.,  p.  129. 

Historical  Sketch  of  Tomo-chi-chi,  C.  C.  Jones,  Jr.,  p.  120,  et  seq.    Albany,  1868. 
For  the  precise  location  of  Tomo-chi-chi's  grave,    see  Plan  of  the  City  of  Savannah 
^•nd  its  Fortifications  by  John  Gerar  William  DeBrahm,  History  of  the  Province  of  Geor- 
i,  etc.,  p.  36.    Wormsloe,  1849. 
tSee  Jones'  Historical  Sketch  of  Tomo-chi-chi,  pp.  107,  108.    Albany,  1868. 

Gentleman's  Magazine,  vol.  xn,  p.  497. 

Harris'  Memorials  of  Oglethorpe,  pp.  256,  267.    Boston,  1841. 


78  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

unarmed  Highlanders  who  were  in  quest  of  fuel,  and 
then,  in  the  most  inhuman  manner,  hacked  their  bodies 
with  their  swords.  Francis  Brooks, —  commanding  the 
scout-boat, — heard  the  firing  and  gave  the  alarm  to  the 
fort,  which  was  garrisoned  by  a  detachment  from  Ogle- 
thorpe's regiment.  Although  pursued,  the  enemy  escaped, 
leaving  behind  them  the  proofs  of  their  inhuman  butch- 
ery.* Informed  of  the  outrage,  Oglethorpe  manned  a 
gunboat  and  followed  in  the  hope  of  overtaking  the 
party.  The  effort  proved  futile,  and  the  General,  by 
way  of  retaliation,  passing  up  the  St.  Johns  drove  in 
the  guards  of  Spanish  horse  posted  on  that  river,  and 
detached  Captain  Dunbar  to  ascertain  the  location  and 
force  of  the  enemy's  fort  at  Picolata.  This  incursion 
was  followed  by  another  in  January,  which  resulted  in 
the  capture  of  Forts  Picolata  and  St.  Francis,  the  gar- 
risons being  made  prisoners  of  war.  In  the  assault 
upon  the  latter  work  General  Oglethorpe  narrowly  es- 
caped death  from  a  cannon  shot.t 

Chafing  under  these  repeated  annoyances  experienced 
at  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  advised  that  the  garri- 
son at  St.  Augustine  was  suffering  for  lack  of  provisions, 
and  ascertaining  that  the  galleys  having  been  sent  to 
Havana  for  reinforcements  and  supplies,  the  St.  Johns 
river  and  the  Florida  coast  were  in  a  comparatively 
defenseless    condition,    the    General    deemed    it    a    fitting 


*  In  the  account  of  this  transaction  contained  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  tor  1740, 
(volume  X,  page  129.)  it  is  stated  that  after  they  were  shot,  the  heads  of  these  two  High- 
landers were  cut  ofif  and  their  bodies  cruelly  mangled  by  the  enemy.  The  perpetrators 
of  this  outrage  consisted  of  Spaniards,  negroes,  and  Indians.  See  Letter  of  General  Ogle- 
thorpe to  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  dated  November  l(5tli,  1739. 

"  The  Spanish  Hireling  detected,"  etc.,  pp.  50,  51.    London,  1743. 

tFor  full  details  of  these  incursions  see  letter  of  Gen.  Oglethorpe  to  Col.  Stephens, 
dated  Frederica,  1st  February,  1740. 

Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  in.,  pp.  lO.i-lOH.    Savannah,  1873. 


FREDERICA.  79 

opportunity  to  attempt  the  reduction  of  St.  Augustine 
and  the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards  from  Florida.  Ad- 
miral Vernon  was  instructed  to  assume  the  offensive 
against  the  Spanish  possessions  in  the  West  Indies,  while 
General  Oglethojpe  should  conduct  all  available  forces 
against  the  seat  of  their  dominion  in  Florida.  The  as- 
sistance of  Carolina  was  urgently  invoked,  but  the  au- 
thorities at  first  would  not  acquiesce  in  the  feasibility 
of  the  enterprise.*  A  rapid  movement  being  regarded 
essential  to  success,  General  Oglethorpe  repaired  to 
Charleston  to  urge  early  and  potent  co-operation.  As  a 
result  of  the  conference  which  there  ensued,  the  Legis- 
lature, by  an  act  passed  April  5th,  1740,  agreed  to 
contribute  a  regiment  of  five  hundred  men  to  be  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Vandevdussen,  a  troop  of  Rangers. 
])resents  for  the  Indians,  and  three  months'  provisions. 
A  large  schooner, — conve}dng  ten  carriages  and  sixteen 
swivel  guns,  and  fifty  men  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Tyrrell, — was  also  furnished  for  the  expedition.     Com- 


♦  In  a  letter  dated  Frederica,  Deremhcr  20th.  1739,  General  Oglethorpe  explained  to  the 
Carolina  authorities  his  designs  against  St.  AugUHtiue,  and  the  assistance  he  desired  to  re- 
ceive from  that  Province.  A  requisition  was  therein  made  for  twelve  18-pounder  guns  with 
two  hundred  rounds  of  ammunition  for  each  piece,  one  mortar  with  proper  complement  of 
powder  and  bombs,  eight  hundred  pioneers,  either  negroes  or  white  men,  and  the  requi- 
site tools  "such  as  spades,  hoes,  axes,  and  hatchets  to  dig  trenches,  make  gabelines,  and 
fascines."  Vessels  and  boats  sufficient  to  transport  the  artillery,  men,  and  provisions, 
and  six  thousand  bushels  of  corn  or  rice  to  feed  the  thousand  Indians  who  were  to  unite 
in  the  expedition,  were  also  demanded.  He  also  desired  that  as  many  horsemen  as  could 
be  collected,  should,  under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  McPherson  or  Mr.  Jones,  cross  the  Savannah 
and  rendezvous  at  the  ferry  on  the  "  Alata"  river,  from  which  point  they  would  be  con- 
ducted into  "  Spanish  Florida."  It  was  suggested  that  fifty  good  horsemen  might  be  raised 
at  "Purrisburg,"  and  that  four  months'  provisions  for  four  hundred  men  of  his  regiment 
should  be  contributed,  and  also  boats  sufficient  to  transport  them.  Of  artillery  on  hand 
the  General  reported  thirty-six  coehoms  and  about  eighteen  hundred  shells.  In  addition 
to  the  four  hundred  men  drawn  from  his  regiment,  and  the  Indians  whom  he  had  en- 
gaged, he  expected  to  be  able  to  arm  and  utilize  for  the  expedition  about  two  hundred 
men  of  the  Georgia  Colony,  if  arrangements  could  be  made  for  paying  and  feeding  them. 

For  this  letter  in  full,  see  Harris'  Complete  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  vol.  n, 
pp.  338,  339.     London,  1748. 

See  also  "  The  Spanish  Hireling  detected,"  etc.,  pp.  5*2-57.    London,  1743. 


80  THE  DEAD   TOWNS   O^  GEORGIA. 

modore  "Vincent  Price,  with  a  small  fleet,  pledged  his 
assistance. 

On  the  first  of  April  General  Oglethorpe  published  a 
manifesto,  in  which,  recognizing  Alexander  Vanderdussen, 
Esq.,  as  Colonel  of  the  Carolina  regiment,  he  empowered 
him  for  the  space  of  four  months  to  hold  regimental  court 
martials  for  the  trial  of  all  offenders.  At  the  expiration 
of  that  period  all  connected  with  that  regiment  were  to 
be  suffered  to  return  to  their  homes.  To  the  naval  forces 
uniting  in  the  expedition  a  full  share  of  all  plunder  was 
guaranteed.  To  the  maimed  and  wounded,  and  to  the 
widows  and  orphans  of  such  as  might  perish  in  the  service, 
was  promised  whatever  share  of  the  spoils  should  fall 
to  the  lot  of  the  General  in  Chief.  Indian  enemies,  if  taken 
captive,  were  to  be  treated  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  not 
as  slaves.^ 

The  mouth  of  the  St.  Johns  was  designated  as  the  point 
of  rendezvous. 

Runners  were  sent  from  the  Uchee  town  to  the  Indian 
allies  to  inform  them  of  the  contemplated  demonstration 
against  St.  Augustine,  and  to  request  a  junction  of  their 
forces  at  Frederica  at  the  earliest  moment.  This  done, 
the  General  returned  at  once  to  St.  Simons  island  where 
he  devoted  himself  to  equipping  his  forces  and  collecting 
the  requisite  munitions  of  war. 

Anticipating  the  concentration  of  his  forces,  and  wishing 
to  reduce  the  posts  through  which  the  enemy  derived 
supplies  from  the  country.  General  Oglethorpe,  with  four 
hundred  men  of  his  own  regiment  and  a  considerable  force 
of  Indians  led  by  Molochi, — son  of  Prim,  the  late  Chief 
of  the   Creeks, — Raven,  war   chief  of    the   Cherokees,   and 

*  See  Harris'  Memorials  of  Oglethorpe,  pp.  378,  380.    Boston,  1841. 


I 

I 


FREDERICA.  81 

Toonahowi,  nephew  of  Tomo-chi-chi,  on  the  9th  of  May 
passed  over  into  Florida,  and  within  a  week  succeeded  in 
capturing  Fort  Francis  de  Papa^  seventeen  miles  north 
of  St.  Augustine,  and  Fort  Diego t  situated  on  the  plains 
twenty-five  miles  from  St.  Augustine.  The  latter  work  was 
defended  by  eleven  guns  and  fifty  regulars,  besides  Indians 
and  negroes.  Leaving  Lieutenant  Dunbar  and  sixty  men 
to  hold  this  post,  the  General  returned  with  the  rest  of  his 
command  to  the  place  of  rendezvous  where,  on  the  19th 
of  May,  he  was  joined  by  Captain  Mcintosh  with  a  company 
of  Highlanders,  and  by  the  Carolina  troops  under  Colonel 
Vanderdussen.  The  anticipated  horsemen,  pioneers,  and 
negroes,  however,  did  not  arrive. 

From  the  best  information  he  could  obtain, — gathered 
from  prisoners  and  otherwise, — General  Oglethorpe  ascer- 
tained that  the  Castle  of  St.  Augustine  at  that  time  con- 
sisted of  a  fort,  built  of  soft  stone.  Its  curtain  was  sixty 
yards  in  length,  its  parapet  nine  feet  thick,  and  its  rampart 
twenty  feet  high,  "  casemated  underneath  for  lodgings,  and 
arched  over  and  newly  made  bomb-proof."  Its  armament 
consisted  of  fifty  cannon, — sixteen  of  brass, — and  among 
them  some  twenty-four  pounders.  The  garrison  had  been 
for  some  time  working  upon  a  covered-way,  but  this  was 
still  in  an  unfinished  condition.  The  town  of  St.  Augustine 
was  protected  by  a  line  of  intrenchments  with  ten  salient 
angles,  in  each  of  which  some  field  pieces  were  mounted. 

*  The  object  of  this  fort  waH  to  guard  the  passage  of  the  St.  Johns  river  and  maintain 
communication  with  St.  Marks  and  Pensacola.  It  was  a  pla<-e  of  some  strength,  and  the 
traces  of  the  earth-works  there  thrown  up  may  still  be  seen  about  a  fourth  of  a  mile 
north  of  the  termination  of  the  Bellamy  road. 

Fairbanks'  History  and  Antiquities  of  St  Augustine,  pp.  144. 145.    New  York,  1858. 

t  This  work  had  been  erected  by  Don  Diego  de  Spinosa  upon  his  own  estate.  Its  re- 
mains, with  one  or  two  cannon,  are  still  visible. 

Idem,  p.  144. 
U 


82  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

In  January,  1740,  the  Spanish  forces  in  Florida,  by  estab- 
lishment, consisted  of  the  following  organizations  :* 

1  Troop  of  Horse, .....uuinbering  lOO  officers  aau  men. 

1  Company  of  Artillery, "  100        " 

3  Independent  Companies  of  old  Troops,  each  "  100        " 

2  Companies  of  the  Regiment  of  Austurias,  "    "  53        " 
1  Company        "            "          "   Valencia,         "            53        " 

1  "  "  "  "   Catalonia,        "  53        " 

2  Companies      "            "          "  Cantabria,  "  "  53        " 
2        "                "            "          "   Mercia,       "  "            53 

Armed  Negroes, 200        " 

White  Transports  for  labor, ,'...  200 

I  Company  of  Militia,  (strength  unknown.) 
Indians,  (number  not  ascertained.) 

It  was  General  Oglethorpe's  original  purpose,  as  fore- 
shadowed in  his  dispatch  of  the  27th  of  March,  1740,t 
with  four  hundred  regular  troops  of  his  regiment,  one 
hundred  Georgians,  and  such  additional  forces  as  South 
Carolina  could  contribute,,  to  advance  directly  upon  St. 
Augustine,  and  attack,  by  sea  and  land,  the  town  and 
the  island  in  its  front.  Both  of  these,  he  believed,  could 
be  taken  "  sword  in  hand."  He  would  then  summon  the 
castle  to  surrender,  or  surprise  it.  Conceiving  that  the 
castle  would  be  too  small  to  afford  convenient  shelter  for 
the  two  thousand  one  hundred  men,  women,  and  children 
of  the  town,  he  regarded  the  capitulation  of  the  fortress 
as  not  improbable.  Should  it  refuse  to  surrender,  how- 
ever, he  proposed  to  shower  upon  it  "  Granado-shells  from 
the  Cohorns  and  Mortars,  and  send  for  the  Artillery  and 
Pioneers  and  the  rest  of  the  Aid  promised  by  the  As- 
sembly ',X  ^Iso  for  Mortars  and  Bombs  from  Providence  ; " 
and,  if  the   castle   should   not   have   yielded   prior   to   the 

*See  Letter  of  General  Oglethorpe  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  under 
date  December  29,  1739.    "  The  Spanish  Hireling  detected,"  etc.,  pp.  57.  58.    London,  1743. 
Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  ni,  pp.  108,  109.    Savannah,  1873. 
t"  Spanish  Hireling  detected,"  etc.,  pp.  59-61.    London,  1743. 
XOi  South  Carolina. 


FREDERICA.  83 

arrival  of  "these  Aids,"  he  was  resolved  to  open  trenches 
and  conduct  a  siege  which  he  reckoned  would  be  all  the 
easier,  the  garrison  having  been  weakened  by  the  summer's 
blockade. 

About  the  time  of  the  concentration  of  the  Georgia  and 
Carolina  forces  for  combined  operations  against  St.  Augus- 
tine, that  town  was  materially  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of 
six  Spanish  half -galleys, — manned  by  two  hundred  regular 
troops  and  armed  with  long  brass  nine-pounder  guns, — and 
two  sloops  loaded  with  provisions. 

Warned  by  the  preliminary  demonstration  which  eventu- 
ated, as  we  have  seen,  in  the  capture  of  forts  Francis  de 
Papa  and  Diego,  the  enemy  massed  all  detachments  within 
the  lines  of  St.  Augustine,  collected  cattle  from  the  adjacent 
region,  and  prepared  for  a  vigorous  defense. 

Apprehending  that  he  might  not  be  able  to  carry  the  town 
by  assault  from  the  land  side, — where  its  entrenchments  were 
strong  and  well  armed, — unless  supported  by  a  demonstra- 
tion m  force  from  the  men  of  war  approaching  the  town 
where  it  looks  toward  the  sea  and  where  it  was  not  covered 
by  earth-works,  and  being  without  the  requisite  pioneer 
corps  and  artillery  train  for  the  conduct  of  a  regular  siege, 
before  putting  his  army  in  motion  General  Oglethorpe 
instructed  the  naval  commanders  to  rendezvous  off  the 
bar  of  the  north  channel,  and  blockade  that  and  the 
Matanzas  pass  to  St.  Augustine.  Captain  Warren,  with  two 
hundred  sailors,  was  to  land  on  Anastasia  island  and  erect 
batteries  for  bombarding  the  town  in  front.  When  his 
land  forces  should  come  into  position  and  be  prepared 
for  the  assault,  he  was  to  notify  Sir  Yelverton  Peyton, 
commanding  the  naval  forces,  and  St.  Augustine  would 
thus  be  attacked  on  all  sides.      Shortly  after  the  middle 


84  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

of  May,  1740,  General  Oglethorpe,  with  a  land  army  num- 
bering over  two  thousand  regulars,  militia,  and  Indians, 
moved  upon  St.  Augustine.  Fort  Moosa,*  situated  within 
two  miles  of  that  place,  lay  in  his  route.  Upon  his  ap- 
proach the  garrison  evacuated  it  and  retired  within  the 
lines  of  the  town.  Having  burnt  the  gates  of  this  fort 
and  caused  three  breaches  in  its  walls.  General  Oglethorpe, 
on  the  5th  of  June,  made  his  reconnoissances  of  the  land 
defenses  of  St.  Augustine  and  prepared  for  the  contemplated 
assault.  Everything  being  in  readiness,  the  signal  pre- 
viously agreed  upon  to  insure  the  cooperation  of  the  naval 
forces  was  given ;  but,  to  the  General's  surprise  and  morti- 
fication, no  response  was  returned.  His  forces  being  dis- 
posed and  eager  for  the  attack,  the  signal  was  repeated, 
but  failed  to  evoke  the  anticipated  answer.  Satisfied  that 
the  town  could  not  be  carried  without  the  assistance  of 
the  naval  forces,  and  being  ignorant  of  the  cause  of  their 
non-action,  the  General  reluctantly  withdrew  his  army 
and  placed  it  in  camp  at  a  convenient  distance,  there  to 
remain  until  he  could  ascertain  the  reason  of  the  failure 
on  the  part  of  the  navy  to  cooperate  in  the  plan  which 
had  been  preconcerted.  This  failure  was  explained  in  this 
wise.  Inside  the  bar,  and  at  such  a  remove  that  they 
could  not  be  affected  by  the  fire  of  the  British  vessels  of 
war, — the  Flamborough,  the  Phoenix,  the  Squirrel,  the  Tar- 
tar, the  Spence,  and  the  Wolf, — Spanish  gallies  and  half 
gallies  were  moored  so  as  to  effectually  prevent  the  ascent 
of  the  barges  intended  for  the  attack,  and  preclude  a  landing 
of  troops  upon  Anastasia  island.     The  shallowness  of  the 

*This  was  an  out-post  on  the  North  river,  about  two  miles  north  of  St.  Augustine.  A 
fortified  line, — a  considerable  portion  of  which  may  now  be  traced, — extended  across 
from  the  stoccades  on  the  St.  Sebastian  to  Fort  Moosa.  A  communication  by  a  tide  creek 
existed  through  the  marshes,  between  the  Castle  at  St,  Augustine  and  Fort  Moosa. 

Fairbanks'  History  and  Antiquities  of  St.  Augustine,  p.  144.    New  York,  1858. 


FKEDERICA.  85 

water  was  such  that  the  men  of  war  could  not  advance  near 
enovigh  to  dislodge  them.  Under  the  circumstances  there- 
fore, Sir  Yelverton  Peyton  found  himself  unable  to  respond 
to  the  important  part  assigned  him  in  the  attack. 

Advised  of  this  fact,  and  chagrined  at  the  non-reaUzation 
of  his  original  plan  of  operations,  Oglethorpe  determined 
at  once  to  convert  his  purposed  assault  into  a  siege.  The 
ships  of  war  lying  off  the  bar  of  St.  Augustine  were  directed 
to  narrowly  observe  every  avenue  of  approach  by  water, 
and  maintain  a  most  rigid  blockade.  Colonel  Palmer,  with 
ninety-five  Highlanders  and  forty-two  Indians,  was  left 
at  Fort  Moosa  with  instructions  to  scout  the  woods  inces- 
santly on  the  land  side  and  intercept  any  cattle  or  supplies 
coming  from  the  interior.  To  prevent  surprise  and  capture, 
he  was  cautioned  to  change  his  camp  each  night,  and  keep 
always  on  the  alert.  He  was  to  avoid  anything  like  a 
general  engagement  with  the  enemy.  Colonel  Vanderdussen, 
with  his  South  Carolina  regiment,  was  ordered  to  take 
possession  of  a  neck  of  land  known  as  Point  Quartel,  about 
a  mile  distant  from  the  castle,  and  there  erect  a  battery. 
General  Oglethorpe,  with  the  men  of  his  regiment  and 
most  of  the  Indians,  embarked  in  boats  and  effected  a 
landing  on  Anastasia  island,  where,  having  driven  off  a 
part}^  of  Spaniards  there  stationed  as  an  advanced  guard, 
he,  with  the  assistance  of  the  sailors  from  the  fleet,  began 
mounting  cannon  with  which  to  bombard  the  town  and 
castle.*  Having  by  these  dispositions  completed  his  in- 
vestment, Oglethorpe  summoned  the  Spanish  Governor  to 

*The  main  battery  on  Anastasia  island,  called  the  Poza.  was  armed  with  four  eighteen 
ponnders  and  one  nine  pounder.  Two  eighteen  pounders  were  mounted  on  the  point  of 
the  wood  of  the  island.  The  remains  of  the  Poza  battery  are  still  to  be  seen,  almost  as 
distinctly  marked  as  on  the  day  of  its  erection.  Four  mortars  and  forty  cohorns  were 
employed  in  the  siege. 

See  Fairbanks'  History  and  Antiquities  of  St.  Augustine,  p.  146.    New  York,  1868. 


86  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 


H 


a  surrender.  Secure  in  his  strong-hold,  the  haughty  Don 
"sent  him  for  answer  that  he  would  be  glad  to  shake  hands 
with  him  in  his  castle."  Indignant  at  such  a  response, 
the  General  opened  his  batteries  upon  the  castle  and  also 
shelled  the  town.  The  fire  was  returned  both  by  the  fort 
and  the  half  gallies  in  the  harbor.  So  great  was  the  dis- 
tance, however,  that  although  the  cannonade  was  maintained 
with  spirit  on  both  sides  for  nearly  three  weeks,  little 
damage  was  caused  or  impression  produced.^  It  being 
evident  that  the  reduction  of  the  castle  could  not  be  ex- 
pected from  the  Anastasia  island  batteries,  Captain  Warren 
offered  to  lead  a  night  attack  upon  the  half  gallies  in  the 
harbor  which  were  effectually  preventing  all  ingress  by  boats. 
A  council  of  war  decided  that  in  as  much  as  those  galleys 
were  covered  by  the  guns  of  the  castle,  and  could  not  be 
approached  by  the  larger  vessels  of  the  fleet,  any  attempt 
to  capture  them  in  open  boats  would  be  accompanied  by 
too  much  risk.     The  suggestion  was  therefore  abandoned. 

Observing  the  besiegers  uncertain  in  their  movements, 
and  their  operations  growing  lax,  and  being  sore  pressed 
for  provisions,  the  Spanish  Governor  sent  out  a  detachment 
of  three  hundred  men  against  Colonel  Palmer.  Unfortu- 
nately that  officer,  negligent  of  his  instructions  and  ap- 
prehending no  danger  from  the  enemy,  remained  two  or 
three  consecutive  nights  at  Fort  Moosa.  This  detachment, 
under  the  command  of  Don  Antonio  Salgrado,  passed 
quietly  out  of  the  gales  of  St.  Augustine  during  the  night  of 
June  14th,  and  after  encountering  a  most  desperate  resist- 
ance, succeeded  in  capturing  Fort  Moosa  at  day  light,  the 


*The  light  guns,  from  their  long  range,  caused  trifling  effect  upon  the  strong  walls  of 
the  castle.  When  struck,  they  received  the  halls  in  their  spongy,  infrangible  embrace, 
and  sustained  comparatively  little  injury.  The  marks  of  their  impact  may  be  noted  to 
this  day. 


FREDERICA.  87 


next  morning.  Colonel  Palmer  fell  early  in  the  action.  The 
Highlanders  "fought  like  lions,"  and  "made  such  havoc 
with  their  broadswords  as  the  Spaniards  cannot  easily 
forget."  This  hand-to-hand  conflict  was  won  at  the  cost 
to  the  enemy  of  more  than  one  hundred  lives.  Colonel 
Palmer,  a  Captain,  and  twenty  Highlanders  were  killed. 
Twenty-seven  were  captured.  Those  who  escaped  made 
their  way  to  Colonel  Vanderdussen  at  Point  Quartel.  Thus 
was  St.  Augustine  relieved  from  the  prohibition  which  had 
hitherto  estopped  all  intercourse  with  the  surrounding 
country. 

Shortly  after  the  occurrence  of  this  unfortunate  event, 
the  vessel  which  had  been  blockading  the  Matanzas  river 
was  withdrawn.  Taking  advantage  of  the  opportunity  thus 
afforded,  some  small  vessels  from  Havana,  with  provisions 
and  reinforcements,  reached  St.  Augustine  by  that  narrow 
channel,  bringing  great  encouragement  and  relief  to  the 
garrison.  This  reinforcement  was  estimated  at  seven  hun- 
dred men,  and  the  supply  of  provisions  is  said  to  have 
been  large.  "Then,"  writes  Hewitt,"^  whose  narrative  we 
have  followed  in  the  main,  "all  prospects  of  starving  the 
enemy  being  lost,  the  army  began  to  despair  of  forcing 
the  place  to  surrender.  The  Carolinean  troops,  enfeebled 
by  the  heat,  dispirited  by  sickness-,  and  fatigued  by  fruit- 
less efforts,  marched  away  in  large  bodies.  The  navy  being 
short  of  provisions,  and  the  usual  season  of  hurricanes 
approaching,  the  commander  judged  it  imprudent  to  hazard 
his  Majesty's  ships  by  remaining  longer  on  that  coast. 
Last  of  all,  the  General  himself,  sick  of  a  fever,  and  his 
regiment   worn    out   with    fatigue   and    rendered    unfit    for 

*  Historical  Account  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Colonies  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  vol.  u,  p.  81.    London,  1779. 


88  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OP   GEORGIA. 

action   bj   a   flax,   with   sorrow   and   regret    followed,    and 
reached  Frederica  about  the  10th  of  July,  1740." 

The  Carolineans,  under  Colonel  Vanderdussen,  proved 
themselves  inefficient,  "  turbulent,  and  disobedient."  They 
lost  not  a  single  man  in  action,  and  only  fourteen  deaths 
occurred  from  sickness  and  accident.  Desertions  were  fre- 
quent.* 

Upon  Oglethorpe's  regiment,  and  the  Georgia  companies, 
devolved  the  brunt  of  the  siege.  On  the  5th  of  July  the 
artillery  and  stores  on  Anastasia  island  were  brought  off, 
and  the  men  crossed  over  to  the  mainland,  t  Vanderdussen 
and  his  regiment  at  once  commenced  a  disorderly  retreat 
in  the  direction  of  the  St.  Johns,  leaving  Oglethorpe  and 
his  men  within  half-cannon  shot  of  the  castle.  In  his  dis- 
patch to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  Camp  on  St.  Johns  in 
Florida,  July  19th,  1740,  the  General  thus  describes  his  last 
movements  :  "  The  Spaniards  made  a  sally,  with  about  500 
men,  on  me  who  lay  on  the  land  side.  I  ordered  En- 
sign Cathcart  with  twenty  men,  supported  by  Major 
Heron  and  Captain  Desbrisay  with  upwards  of  100  men, 
to  attack  them ;  I  followed  with  the  body.  We  drove  them  1 
into  the  works  and  pursued  them  to  the  very  barriers  of 
the  covered  way.  After  the  train  and  provisions  were  em- 
barked and  safe  out  of  the  harbour,  I  marched  with  drums, 
beating  and  colours  flying,  in  the  day,  from  my  camp  neai 


*  Stephens  says,  *  *  Most  of  the  gaj'  Voltinteers  rvin  away  by  small  Parties,  basely, 
and  cowardly,  as  they  ronld  get  Boats  to  carry  them  off  during  the  Time  of  greatest] 
Action  ;  and  Capt.  BuU,  (a  son  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor)  who  had  the  Command  of  al 
Company  in  that  Regiment,  most  scandalously  deserted  his  Post  when  upon  Duty,  and|^ 
not  staying  to  be  relieved  regularly,  made  his  Flight  privately,  carrying  off  four  Men  of 
his  Guard  with  him,  and  escaped  to  Clutrles  Town;  for  which  he  ought  in  Justice  to  have 
been  tried  as  a  Deserter ;  but  he  was  well  received  at  home. 

Journal  of  Proceedings,  &c.,  vol.  ir,  p.  462.    London,  1742. 

Compare  Ramsay's  History  of  South  Carolina,  vol.  i,  p.  143.    Charleston,  1809. 

t  Wright's  Memoir  of  General  James  Oglethorpe,  p.  254.    London,  18G7. 


FREDERICA.  89 

the  town  to  a  camp  three  miles  distant,  where  I  lay  that 
night.  The  next  day  I  marched  nine  miles,  where  I  en- 
camped that  night.  We  discovered  a  party  of  Spanish 
horse  and  Indians  whom  we  charged,  took  one  horseman 
and  killed  two  Indians ;  the  rest  ran  to  the  garrison.  I 
am  now  encamped  on  St.  Johns  river,  waiting  to  know 
what  the  people  of  Carolina  would  desire  me  farther  to 
do  for  the  safety  of  these  provinces,  which  I  think  are 
very  much  exposed  to  the  half-galleys,  with  a  wide  ex- 
tended frontier  hardly  to  be  defended  by  a  few  men." 

In  one  of  the  Indian  chiefs  Oglethorpe  found  a  man 
after  his  own  heart.  When  asked  by  some  of  the  retreat- 
ing troops  to  march  with  them,  his  reply  was,  "  No !  I 
will  not  stir  a  foot  till  I  see  every  man  belonging  to  me 
marched  off  before  me ;  for  I  have  always  been  the  first 
in  advancing  towards  an  enemy,  and  the  last  in  retreat- 
ing."* 

This  failure  to  reduce  St.  Augustine  may  be  fairly  at- 
tributed 

I ;  to  the  delay  in  inaugurating  the  movement,  caused 
mainly,  if  not  entirely,  by  the  tardiness  on  the  part 
of  the  South  Carolina  authorities  in  contributing 
the  troops  and  provisions  for  which  requisition  had 
been  made; 
II ;  to  the  reinforcement  of  men  and  supplies  from  Ha- 
vanna  introduced  into  St.  Augustine  just  before  the 
English  expedition  set  out ;  thereby  materially  re- 
pairing the  inequality  previously  existing  between 
the  opposing  forces; 


*  See  Harris'  Memorials  of  Oglethorpe,  pp.  239,  240.    Boston,  1841,  quoting  from  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine. 
12 


90  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OP  GEORGIA. 

Ill ;  to  the  injudicious  movement  against  forts  Francis 
de  Papa  and  Diego,  which  put  the  Spaniards  on 
the  alert,  encouraged  concentration  on  their  part, 
and  foreshadowed  an  immediate  demonstration  in 
force  against  their  stronghold ;  and 
IV ;  to  the  inabihty  on  the  part  of  the  fleet  to  partici- 
pate in  the  assault  previously  planned,  and  which 
was  to  have  been  vigorously  undertaken  so  soon  as 
General  Oglethorpe  with  his  land  forces  came  into 
position  before  the  walls  of  St.  Augustine. 
V.  The  subsequent  destruction  of  Colonel  Palmer's  com- 
mand,— thereby  enabling  the  enemy  to  communicate 
with  and  draw  supplies  from  the  interior, — the  lack 
of  heavy  ordnance  with  which  to  reduce  the  castle 
from  the  batteries  on  Anastasia  island, — the  impos- 
sibility of  bringing  up  the  larger  war  vessels  that 
they  might  participate  in  the  bombardment, — the 
inefficiency  of  Colonel  Vanderdussen's  command, — 
the  impatience  and  disappointment  of  the  Indian 
allies  who  anticipated  early  capture  and  hberal 
spoils, — hot  suns,  heavy  dews,  a  debiHtating  climate, 
sickness  among  the  troops,  and  the  arrival  of  men, 
munitions  of  war,  and  provisions  through  the  Ma- 
tq-nzas  river,  in  the  end  rendered  quite  futile  every 
hope  which  at  the  outset  had  been  entertained  for 
a  successful  prosecution  of  the  siege. 
Great  was  the  disappointment  upon  the  failure  of  the . 
expedition,  and  unjust  and  harsh  the  criticisms  levelled  by 
not  a  few  against  its  brave  and  distinguished  leader.*    We 


♦See  "  An  Impartial  Account  of  the  late  Expedition  against  St.  Augustine  under  General 
Oglethorpe,"  &c.,  London,  1742,  which  called  forth  "The  Spanish  Hireling  detected,"  &c., 
London,  1743. 


FREDERICA.  91 

agree  with  the  Duke  of  Argyle  who,  in  the  British  House 
of  Peers,  declared  "  One  man  there  is,  my  Lords,  whose 
natural  generosity,  contempt  of  danger,  and  regard  for  the 
pubHc  prompted  him  to  obviate  the  designs  of  the  Span- 
iards, and  to  attack  them  in  their  own  territories  ;  a  man 
whom  by  long  acquaintance  I  can  confidently  affirm  to  have 
been  equal  to  his  undertaking,  and  to  have  learned  the  art 
of  war  by  a  regular  education,  who  yet  miscarried  in  the 
design  only  for  want  of  supplies  necessary  to  a  possibility 
of  success." 

Although  this  attempt, — so  formidable  in  its  character 
when  we  consider  the  limited  resources  at  command,  and 
so  full  of  daring  when  we  contemplate  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  undertaken, — eventuated  in  disappoint- 
ment, its  efiects  were  not  without  decided  advantages  to 
the  Colonies.  For  two  years  the  Spaniards  remained  on 
the  defensive,  and  General  Oglethorpe  enjoyed  an  oppor- 
tunity for  strengthening  his  fortifications  on  St.  Simons 
island,  so  that  when  the  counter  blow  was  delivered  by 
his  adversary  he  was  in  condition  not  only  to  parry  it,  but 
also  to  severely  punish  the  uplifted  arm."* 

For  two  months  after  the  termination  of  this  expedition, 
Oglethorpe  lay  ill  of  a  continued  fever  contracted  during 

*  For  fuller  acrount  of  this  demonstration  against  St.  Augustine  see  Harris'  "  Complete 
Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,"  &c.,  pp.  339,  340.  London,  1748.  "An  Impartial  Ac- 
count of  the  late  Expedition  against  8t.  Aiigustine,"  &c.  London,  1742.  "The  Spanish 
Hireling  detected,"  &c.  London,  1743,  Stephens' "Journal  of  Proceedings,"  &c.,  vol.  u, 
pp.  438,  444-448,  461  et  aliter.  London,  1742.  Hewitt's  "  Historical  Account  of  the  Rise 
and  Progress  of  the  Colonies  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,"  vol.  n,  chap,  viii,  pp.  65-82. 
London,  1779.  McCaU's  "History  of  Georgia,"  vol.  i,  pp.  143-151.  Savannah,  1811.  Ste- 
vens' -'History  of  Georgia,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  167-179.  New^  York,  1847.  Spalding's  "Sketch  of 
the  Life  of  General  James  Oglethorpe,"  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  i, 
pp.  265-272.  Savannah,  1840.  Harris'  "Biographical  Memorials  of  James  Oglethorpe,"  pp. 
222-242.  Boston,  1841.  Wright's  "  Memoir  of  General  James  Oglethorpe,"  &c.,  pp.  235- 
2.55.  London,  1867.  Ramsay's  "History  of  South  Carolina,"  vol.  I.,  pp.  140-144.  Charles- 
ton, 1809,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

Fairbanks'  History  and  Antiquities  of  St.  Augustine,  pp.  141-152.    New  York,  1858. 


92  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

the  exposures  and  fatigues  incident  upon  his  exertions  and 
anxieties  during  the  siege.  When,  on  the  second  of  Sep- 
tember, Mr.  Stephens  called  to  see  him  at  Frederica,  he 
found  him  still  troubled  with  a  lurking  fever  and  confined 
to  his  bed.  His  protracted  sickness  had  so  "  worn  away 
his  strength"  that  he  "seldom  came  down  stairs,  but  re- 
tained still  the  same  vivacity  of  spirit  in  appearance  to 
all  whom  he  talked  with,  though  he  chose  to  converse  with 
very  few."* 

Four  companies  of  the  regiment  were  now  encamped  at 
the  south-east  end  of  St.  Simons  island,  and  the  other 
two  at  Frederica.  So  soon  as  the  men  recovered  from  the 
malady  contracted  at  St.  Augustine,  they  were  busily  occu- 
pied in  erecting  new  fortifications  and  strengthening  the 
old.  From  these  two  camps  detachments  garrisoned  the 
advanced  works,  St.  Andrew,  Fort  "William,  St.  George,  and 
the  outposts  on  Amelia  island ; — the  details  being  relieved 
at  regular  intervals,  t 

During  the  preceding  seven  years,  which  constituted  the 
entire  Hfe  of  the  Colony,  General  Oglethorpe  had  enjoyed 
no  respite  from  his  labors.  Personally  directing  all  move- 
ments,— supervising  the  location,  and  providing  for  the 
comfort,  safety,  and  good  order  of  the  settlers, — accom- 
modating their  differences, — encouraging  and  directing  their 
labors, — propitiating  the  Aborigines, — influencing  necessary 
supplies,  and  inaugurating  suitable  defences,  he  had  been 
constantly  passing  from  point  to  point  finding  no  rest  for 
the  soles  of  his  feet.  Now  in  tent  at  Savannah, — now  in 
open  boat  reconnoitering  the  coast, — now  upon  the  southern 
islands, — ^his   only   shelter    the    wide-spreading  live-oak, — 


•Stephens'  "Journal  of  Proceedings,"  &c.,  vol.  n,  pp.  467-468,  494-495.    London,  1742. 
t  Idem,  p.  496. 


FEEDERICA.  93 

designating  sites  for  forts  and  look-outs,  and  with  his  own 
hands  planning  military  works  and  laying  out  villages, — 
again  in  journeys  oft  along  the  Savannah,  the  Great  Ogee- 
chee,  the  Alatamaha,  the  St.  Johns,  and  far  off  into  the 
heart  of  the  Indian  country, — frequently  inspecting  his 
advanced  posts, — undertaking  voyages  to  Charlestown  and 
to  England  in  behalf  of  the  Trust,  and  engaged  in  severe 
contests  with  the  Spaniards,  his  life  had  been  one  of  in- 
cessant activity  and  solicitude.  But  for  his  energy,  intel- 
ligence, watchfulness,  and  self-sacrifice,  the  enterprise  must 
have  languished.  As  we  look  back  upon  this  period  of  trial, 
uncertainty,  and  poverty,  our  admiration  for  his  achieve- 
ments increases  the  more  narrowly  we  scan  his  limited 
resources  and  opportunities,  the  more  intelligently  we  ap- 
preciate the  difiiculties  he  was  called  upon  to  surmount. 
Always  present  wherever  duty  called  or  danger  threatened, 
he  never  expected  others  to  press  on  where  he  himself  did 
not  lead.  The  only  home  he  ever  owned  or  claimed  in 
Georgia  was  on  St.  Simons  island.  The  only  hours  of 
leisure  he  ever  enjoyed  were  spent  in  sight  and  sound  of 
his  military  works  along  the  southern  frontier,  upon  whose 
safe  tenure  depended  the  salvation  of  the  Colony.  Just 
where  the  military  road  connecting  Fort  St.  Simon  with 
Frederica,  after  having  traversed  the  beautiful  prairie, — 
constituting  the  common  pasture  land  of  the  village, — 
entered  the  woods,  General  Oglethorpe  established  his 
cottage.  Adjacent  to  it  were  a  garden,  and  an  orchard  of 
oranges,  figs  and  grapes.  Magnificent  oaks  threw  their 
protecting  shadows  above  and  around  this  quiet,  pleasant 
abode,  fanned  by  delicious  sea-breezes,  fragrant  with  the 
perfume  of  flowers,  and  vocal  with  the  melody  of  song-birds. 
To  the  westward,  and  in  full  view,  were  the  fortifications 


94  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

and  the  white  houses  of  Frederica.  Behind  rose  a  dense 
forest  of  oaks.  "This  cottage  and  fifty  acres  of  land 
attached  to  it,"  says  the  honorable  Thomas  Spalding  in 
his  "Sketch  of  the  life  of  General  James  Oglethorpe,"* 
"was  all  the  landed  domain  General  Oglethorpe  reserved 
to  himself,  and  after  the  General  went  to  England  it  became 
the  property  of  my  father.  *  ^  ^  After  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  the  buildings  being  destroyed,  my  father  sold 
this  little  property.  But  the  oaks  were  only  cut  down 
within  four  or  five  years  past,  and  the  elder  people  of  St. 
Simons  yet  feel  as  if  it  were  sacrilege,  and  mourn  their 
fall."  Here  the  defences  of  St.  Simons  island  were  under 
his  immediate  supervision.  His  troops  were  around  him, 
and  he  was  prepared,  upon  the  first  note  of  warning,  to 
concentrate  the  forces  of  the  Colony  for  active  operations. 
In  the  neighborhood  several  of  his  officers  established  their 
homes.  Among  them,  "  Harrington  Hall," — the  country 
seat  of  the  wealthy  Huguenot,  Captain  Raymond  Demere, 
enclosed  with  hedges  of  cassina, — was  conspicuous  for  its 
beauty  and  comfort. 

Including  the  soldiers  and  their  families,  Frederica  in 
1740  is  said  to  have  claimed  a  population  of  one  thousand.f 
This  estimate  is  perhaps  somewhat  exaggerated,  although 
much  nearer  the  mark  than  that  of  the  discontents  Tailfer, 
Anderson,  and  Douglas,  who,  in  their  splenetic  and  Jacobin- 
ical tract  entitled  "  A  True  and  Historical  Narrative  of  the 
Colony  of  Georgia  in  America,"  assert  that  of  the  one 
hundred  and  forty-four  lots  into  which  the  town  was  divided, 

*  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  i,  p.  273.    Savannah,  1840. 
t  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  i,  p.  274.    Savannah,  1840. 
Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  in,  p.  434.    Boston,  1852. 
In  this  estimate  may  properly  be  included  such  officers  and  men  of  Oglethorpe's 
regiment  as  were  there  stationed. 


FREDERICA.  95 

only  "about  fifty  were  built  upon,"  and  that  "the  number 
of  the  Inhabitants,  notwithstanding  of  the  Circulation  of 
the  Regiment's  money,  are  not  over  one  hundred  and  twenty 
Men,  Women,  and  Children,  and  these  are  daily  stealing 
away  by  all  possible  Ways."^ 

As  we  have  already  seen,  the  town  was  regularly  laid  out 
in  streets  called  after  the  principal  officers  of  Oglethorpe's 
regiment ;  and,  including  the  military  camp  on  the  north, 
the  parade  on  the  east,  and  "a  small  wood  on  the  south 
which  served  as  a  blind  to  the  enemy  in  case  of  attack 
from  ships  coming  up  the  river,"  was  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  in  circumference.  The  fort  was  strongly  built  of  tabby 
and  well  armed.  Several  eighteen  pounders,  mounted  on  a 
ravelin  in  front,  commanded  the  river,  -and  the  town  was 
defended  on  the  land  side  by  substantial  intrenchments. 
The  ditch  at  the  foot  of  these  intrenchments  was  intended 
to  admit  the  influx  of  the  tide,  thus  rendering  the  isolation 
of  Frederica  complete,  and  materially  enhancing  the 
strength  of  its  line  of  circumvallation.  We  reproduce  from 
"An  Impartial  Enquiry  into  the  State  and  Utility  of  the 
Province  of  Georgia  "t  the  following  contemporaneous 
notice :  "  There  are  many  good  Buildings  in  the  Town, 
several  of  which  are  Brick.  There  is  likewise  a  Fort  and 
Store-house  belonging  to  the  Tiiist.  The  People  have  a 
Minister  who  has  a  Salary  from  the  Society  for  propagating 
the  Gospel.  In  the  Neighbourhood  of  the  Town,  there 
is  a  fine  Meadow  of  320  Acres  ditch'd  in,  on  which  a  number 


*  Page  106.    Charles-Town,  South  Carolina,  1741. 
t  Pages  51  and  5'2.    London,  1741. 

Compare  "A State  of  the  Province  of  (Georgia attested  upon  Oath,"  &c.,  p.  11.     Lon- 
don. 1742. 
"  An  Account  Shewing  the  Progress  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,"  &c.,  p.  36.    London,  1741. 
Wright's  Memoir  of  Gen'l  James  Oglethorpe,  pp.  263,  264.    London,  1867. 


06  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

of  Cattle  are  fed,  and  good  Hay  is  likewise  made  from  it. 
At  some  Distance  from  the  Town  is  the  Camp  for  General 
Oglethorpe's  Eegiment.  The  Country  about  it  is  well  culti- 
vated, several  Parcels  of  Land  not  far  distant  fi-om  the 
Camp  having  been  granted  in  small  Lots  to  the  Soldiers, 
many  of  whom  are  married,  and  fifty-five  Children  were 
born  there  in  the  last  year.  These  Soldiers  are  the  most 
industrious,  and  willing  to  plant ;  the  rest  are  generally 
desirous  of  Wives,  but  there  are  not  Women  enough  in 
the  Country  to  supply  them.  There  are  some  handsome 
Houses  built  by  the  Officers  of  the  Kegiment,  and  besides 
the  Town  of  Frederica  there  are  other  little  Villages  upon 
this  Island.  A  sufficient  Quantity  of  Pot-herbs,  Pulse,  and 
Fruit  is  produced,  there  to  supply  both  the  Town  and 
Garrison ;  and  the  People  of  Frederica  have  begun  to  malt 
and  to  brew ;  and  the  Soldiers  Wives  Spin  Cotton  of  the 
Country,  which  they  Knit  into  Stockings.  At  the  Town  of 
Frederica  is  a  Town-Court  for  administring  Justice  in  the 
Southern  Part  of  the  Province,  with  the  same  Number  of 
Magistrates  as  at  Savannah." 

At  the  village  of  St.  Simon,  on  the  south  point  of  the 
island,  was  erected  a  watch-tower  from  which  the  move- 
ments of  vessels  at  sea  might  be  conveniently  observed. 
Upon  their  appearance,  their  number  was  at  once  an- 
nounced by  signal  guns,  and  a  horseman  dispatched  to 
head  quarters  with  the  particulars.  A  look-out  was  kept 
by  a  party  of  Rangers  at  Bachelor's  Redoubt  on  the  main, 
and  a  Corporal's  guard  was  stationed  at  Pike's  Bluff.  To 
facilitate  communication  with  Darien  a  canal  was  cut 
through  General's  island.  Defensive  works  were  erected  on 
Jekyll  island,  where  Captain  Horton  had  a  well  improved 
plantation,  and  there  a  brewery  was  established  for  supply- 


FREDERiCA.  97 

ing  the  troops  with  beer.  On  Cumberland  island  were  three 
batteries, — Fort  St.  Andrew, — built  in  1736,  on  high  com- 
manding ground,  at  the  north-east  point  of  the  island, — a 
battery  on  the  west  to  control  the  inland  navigation, — and 
Fort  William, — a  work  of  considerable  strength  and  regu- 
larity,— commanding  the  entrance  to  St.  Mary's  river.  Two 
companies  of  Oglethorpe's  regiment  were  stationed  near 
Fort  St.  Andrew.  As  many  of  the  soldiers  were  married, 
lots  were  assigned  to  them  which  they  cultivated  and  im- 
proved. Near  this  work  was  the  little  village  of  Barrimacke 
of  twenty-four  families. 

Upon  Ameha  island,  where  the  orange  trees  were  grow- 
ing wild  in  the  woods,  were  stationed  the  Highlanders 
with  their  scout  boats.  They  had  a  good  plantation, — 
upon  which  they  raised  corn  enough  for  their  subsist- 
ence,— a  little  fort,  and  "a  stud  of  horses  and  mares."* 

"Nowhere,"  remarks  Mr.  Spalding,t  "had  mind,  with 
the  limited  means  under  its  control,  more  strongly  evinced 
its  power.  And  it  will  be  seen  hereafter,  that  it  was  to 
the  great  ability  shown  in  the  disposition  of  these  works, 
that  not  Georgia  only,  but  Carolina  owed  their  preserva- 
tion ;  -for  St.  Simon's  was  destined  soon  to  become  the 
Thermopylae  of  the  southern  Anglo  American  provinces." 
Besides  compassing  the  improvement  of,  and  garrisoning 
his  defensive  works  along  the  southern  frontier  with  the 
men  of  his  regiment,  Oglethorpe  kept  in  active  service  con- 
siderable bodies  of  Indians  whose  mission  was  to  harrass 
the  Spaniards  in  Florida,  annoy  their  posts,  and  closely 
invest   St.  Augustine.      So  energetically  did   these  faithful 

*See  an  Impartial  Enquiry  into  the  State  and  Utility  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  &c., 
p.  53.    Loudon,  1743. 
Wright's  Memoir  of  Oglethorpe,  p.  264.    London.  1867. 

t  Collections  of  the  Greorgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  i,  p.  258.    Savannah,  1840. 
13 


98  THE  DEAD   TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

allies  discharge  the  duty  assigned  them,  and  so  narrowly 
did  they  watch  and  thoroughly  plague  the  garrison  and 
inhabitants  of  St.  Augustine,  that  they  dared  not  venture 
any  distance  without  the  walls.  Adjacent  plantations  re- 
mained uncultivated ;  and,  within  the  town,  food,  fuel,  and 
the  necessaries  of  hfe  became  so  scarce  that  the  Spanish 
government  was  compelled  to  support  the  population  by 
stores  sent  from  Havana.  To  the  efficient  aid  of  his  In- 
dian allies  was  Oglethorpe  on  more  than  one  occasion 
indebted  for  the  consummation  of  important  plans.  It 
would  not  be  an  exaggeration  to  affirm  that  to  their  friend- 
ship, fidelity,  and  valor,  was  the  Colony  largely  beholden 
not  only  for  its  security,  but  even  for  its  preservation.  "  If 
we  had  no  other  evidence,"  writes  Mr.  Spalding,  "  of  the 
great  abilities  of  Oglethorpe  but  what  is  offered  by  the 
devotion  of  the  Indian  Tribes  to  him,  and  to  his  memory 
afterwards  for  fifty  years,  it  is  all-sufficient;  for  it  is  only 
master  minds  that  acquire  this  deep  and  lasting  influence 
over  other  men." 

In  his  letter  to  the  Duke  of.  Newcastle,  dated  Frederica, 
May  12th,  1741,  Oglethorpe  advises  the  Home  Government 
of  a  reinforcement  of  eight  hundred  men  newly  arrived  at 
St.  Augustine,  and  of  a  declared  intention  on  the  part  of 
the  Spanish  authorities  to  invade  the  provinces  of  Georgia 
and  Carolina  so  soon  as  the  result  of  Admiral  Vernon's 
expedition  in  the  West  Indies  should  have  been  ascer- 
tained. He  makes  urgent  demand  for  men-of-war  to  guard 
the  water  approaches,  for  a  train  of  artillery,  arms,  and 
ammunition,  and  for  authority  to  recruit  the  two  troops 
of  Rangers  to  sixty  men  each,  and  the  Highland  company 
to  one  hundred,  to  enlist  one  hundred  boatmen,  and  to 
p.urchase  or  build,  And  man  two  half-galleys.     Alluding  to 


FREDERICA.  99 

the  expected  advance  of  the  Spaniards,  the  writer  con- 
tinues :  "If  our  men  of  war  will  not  keep  them  from 
coming  in  by  sea,  and  we  have  no  succour,  but  decrease 
daily  by  different  accidents,  all  we  can  do  will  be  to  die 
bravely  in  his  Majesty's  service.  *  ^  I  have  often 
desired  assistance  of  the  men-of-war,  and  continue  to  do 
so.  I  go  on  in  fortifying  this  town,  making  magazines, 
and  doing  everything  I  can  to  defend  the  Province  vigor- 
ously, and  I  hope  my  endeavors  will  be  approved  of  by 
his  Majesty,  since  the  whole  end  of  my  life  is  to  do  the 
duty  of  a  faithful  subject  and  grateful  servant.  I  have 
thirty  Spanish  prisoners  in  this  place,  and  we  continue  so 
masters  of  Florida  that  the  Spaniards  have  not  been  able 
to  rebuild  any  one  of  the  seven  forts  which  we  destroyed 
in  the  last  expedition." 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  men-of-war  and  ordnance 
requested  were  ever  furnished. 

With  a  little  squadron  composed  of  the  Guard  sloop,  the 
sloop  "Falcon,"  and  Captain  Davis'  schooner  "Norfolk" 
carrying  a  detachment  of  his  regiment  under  command  of 
Major  Heron,  General  Oglethorpe  on  the  16th  of  August, 
1741,  bore  down  upon  a  large  Spanish  ship  lying  at  anchor, 
with  hostile  intent,  off  the  bar  of  Jekyll  sound.  A  heavy 
storm  intervening,  the  Spanish  vessel  put  to  sea  and  was 
lost  to  sight.  Unwilling  to  dismiss  his  miniature  fleet 
until  he  had  performed  more  substantial  service,  the  Gen- 
eral boldly  continued  down  the  coast,  attacked  and  put 
to  flight  a  Spanish  man-of-war,  and  the  notorious  privateer 
"Black-Sloop"  commanded  by  Destrade,  a  French  officer, 
challenged  the  vessels  lying  in  the  inner  harbor  of  St.  Au- 
gustine to  come  out  and  engage  his  small  squadron,  re- 
mained   at    anchor    all    night   within   sight    of    the   castle. 


100  THE   DEA.D   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

cruised  for  some  days  off  the  Matanzas,  and,  after  having 
alarmed  the  whole  coast,  returned  in  safety  to  Frederica. 
In  the  midst  of  these  labors  and  anxieties  incident  upon 
his  preparations  to  resist  the  threatened  Spanish  invasion, 
and  at  a  time  when  harmony  and  content  were  most  essen- 
tial to  the  well-being  of  the  Colony,  Oglethorpe  was  an- 
noyed by  sundry  complaints  from  evil-minded  persons. 
Most  of  them  were  frivolous,  and  a  few  quite  insulting  in 
their  character.  The  publication  of  two  tracts,  one  enti- 
tled "An  Impartial  Enquiry  into  the  State  and. Utility  of 
the  Province  of  Georgia,"^  and  the  other  "A  State  of  the 
Province  of  Georgia  attested  upon  Oath  in  the  Court  of 
Savannah,  November  10,  1740,"t — both  presenting  favor- 
able views  of  the  Colony  and  disseminated  in  the  interest 
of  the  Trust, — irritated  these  malcontents  and  gave  rise  to 
several  rejoinders,  among  which,  as  particularly  reflecting 
upon  the  conduct  of  the  commander-in-chief  and  his  ad- 
ministration of  affairs,  may  be  mentioned  "A  Brief  Account 
of  the  Causes  that  have  Eetarded  the  Progress  of  the 
Colony  of  Georgia  in  America,  attested  upon  Oath,  being 
a  Proper  Contrast  to  'A  State  of  the  Province  of  Georgia 
attested  upon  Oath,'  and  some  other  misrepresentations 
on  the  same  subject."  J  The  charge  was  openly  made 
that  some  of  the  magistrates  at  Savannah  and  Frederica 
(the  principal  towns  in  Georgia)  had  wilfully  injured  the 
people  by  declaring  "from  the  Bench  that  the  Laws  of 
England  were  no  laws  in  Georgia,"  by  causing  "false  im- 
prisonments," by  "  discharging  Grand  Juries  while  matters 
of  Felony  lay  before  them,"  by  "  intimidating  Petit  Juries," 
and,  in    short,    "by   sticking    at    nothing   to   oppress    the 

♦London,  1741. 
t  London,  1742. 
t  London,  1743. 


FREDERICA.  101 

people."  It  was  further  alleged  that  there  was  no  way 
of  applying  for  redress  to  his  Majesty.  General  Oglethorpe 
was  accused  of  partiality  and  tyi'anny  in  his  administra- 
tion. In  support  of  these  charges  various  affidavits  were 
obtained  from  parties  claiming  to  be  residents  of  Frederica, 
Darien,  Savannah,  Ebenezer,  and  Augusta, — most  of  them, 
however,  being  sworn  to  and  verified  outside  the  limits  of 
Georgia.  Those  who  are  curious  with  regard  to  the  con- 
tents of  these  affidavits,  so  far  as  they  reflect  upon  the 
conduct  of  the  Frederica  magistrates,  are  referred  to  the 
depositions  of  Samuel  Perkins,  John  Roberson,  and  Samuel 
Davison.* 

A  desire  to  sell  forbidden  articles,  and  to  ply  trades  for 
which  special  permission  had  been  granted  to  others,  oppo- 
sition to  the  regulation  which  prohibited  the  owners  of 
hogs  and  cattle  from  allowing  them  to  run  at  large  on  the 
common  and  in  the  streets  of  Frederica,  alleged  misfeas- 
ance in  the  conduct  of  bailiffs  and  under-magistrates  in 
the  discharge  of  their  duties,  the  unprofitableness  of  labor, 
overbearing  acts  committed  by  those  in  authority,  and  simi- 
lar matters  formed  the  burthen  of  these  sworn  complaints. 
While  they  tended  to  distract  the  public  mind  and  to 
annoy  those  upon  whose  shoulders  rested  the  administra- 
tion of  affairs,  they  fortunately  failed  in  producing  any 
serious  impression  either  within  the  Colony  or  in  the 
mother  country.  We  allude  to  the  subject  in  its  proper 
connection  simply  as  a  matter  of  history,  and  to  show  how 
ill-judged  and  ill-timed  were  these  efforts  of  the  malcon- 
tents, among  whom  Pat  Tailfer,  M.  D.,  Hugh  Anderson, 
M.  A.,  and  Da:  Douglas  should  not  be  forgotten. 


*A  Brief  Account  of  the  Causes  that  have  retarded  the  Progress  of    the  Colony  of 
Georgia,  &c.,  Appendix,  pp.  1-19.    London,  1743. 


102  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

The  utter  destruction  of  the  provinces  of  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina  was  the  avowed  object  of  the  Spaniards, 
who  promised  to  extend  no  quarter  to  English  or  Indians 
taken  with  arms  in  their  hands.  The  struggle  was  to  be 
desperate  in  the  extreme.  To  the  urgent  applications  for 
assistance  forwarded  by  General  Oglethorpe,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Bull  turned  a  deaf  ear ;  and  the  Carolinians,  in- 
stead of  furnishing  supplies  and  munitions  of  war,  and 
marching  to  the  south  to  meet  the  invader  where  the  battle 
for  the  salvation  of  both  Colonies  was  to  be  fought,  re- 
mained at  home,  leaving  the  Georgians  single-handed  to 
breast  the  storm. ^ 

The  Gentleman's  Magazinef  contains  the  following  esti- 
mate of  the  Spanish  forces  under  the  command  of  Don 
Manuel  de  Monteano,  Governor  of  Augustine  and  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  expedition,  and  Major  General  An- 
tonio de  Kodondo,  Engineer  General,  participating  in  the 
attack  upon  St.  Simons  island  : 

"  2  Colonels  with  Brevits  of  Brigadiers. 

"  One  Regiment  of  Dragoons,  dismounted,  with  their 
Saddles  and  Bridles. 

"  The  Regiment  caU'd  The  Battalion  of  the  Havannali. 

"  10  Companies  of  50  each,  draughted  off  from  several 
Regiments  of  Havannah. 

"  One  Regiment  of  the  Havannali  Militia,  consisting  of 
10  Companies  of  100  Men  each. 

"  One  Regiment  of  Negroes,  regularly  officer'd  by  Ne- 
groes. 

"  One  ditto  of  Mulattas,  and  one  Company  of  100  Migue- 
lets. 

*  See  Letter  of  General  Oglethorpe,  dated  Frederica,  Jvxne  8th,  1742. 

Wright's  Memoir  of  Oglethorpe,  p.  298.    London,  1867. 
t  For  1742.    Vol.  xn.  p.  694. 


FREDERICA.  103 

"  One  Company  of  the  Train  with  proper  Artillery. 

"  Augmthie  Forces  consisting  of  about  300  Men. 

"  Ninety  Indians. 

"  And  15  Negroes  who  ran  away  from   South   Carolina.'' 

From  the  various  accounts  of  this  memorable  struggl 
we  select  that  prepared  by  Oglethorpe  himself,  written  on 
the  spot,  with  the  scars  of  battle  fresh  around  him,  and 
the  smoke  of  the  conflict  scarce  hfted  from  the  low-lying 
shores  and  dense  woods  of  St.  Simons  island.  The  com- 
manding eye  that  saw,  the  stem  lips  which  answered  back 
the  proud  defiance,  and  the  strong  arm  which,  under  Provi- 
dence, pointed  the  way  to  victory,  are  surely  best  able  to 
unfold  the  heroic  tale.  We  present  the  report  as  it  came 
from  his  pen  :* 

"Frederica  in  Georgia, 
30th  July,  1742. 

"  The  Spanish  Invasion  which  has  a  long  time  threatened 
the  Colony,  Carolina,  and  all  North  Ameri6a  has  at  last 
fallen  upon  us  and  God  hath  been  our  deliverance.  General 
Horcasilas,  Governour  of  the  Havannah,  ordered  those 
Troops  who  had  been  employed  against  General  Went- 
worth  to  embark  with  Ai'tillery  and  everything  necessary 
upon  a  secret  expedition.  They  sailed  with  a  great  fleet  :t 
amongst  them  were  two  half  Galleys  carrying  120  men 
each  &  an  18  pound  Gun.  They  drew  but  five  feet  water 
which  satisfied  me  they  were  for  this  place.  By  good 
great  Fortune  one  of  the  half  Galleys  was  wrecked  coming 
out.J     The  Fleet  sailed  for  St.  Augustine  in  Florida.     Capt. 


*8ee  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  in,  p.  133  et  seq.   Savannah,  1873. 

t  Consisting  of  flfty-six  sail,  and  between  seven  and  eight  thoiisand  men. 

JThis  was  a  large  Settee  having  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  on  board.  A  few  days  aftor* 
wards  the  fleet  was  dispersed  by  a  storm  so  that  all  the  shipping  did  not  arrive  at  St.  Au- 
gustine. 


104  THE   DEAD   T(3WNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

Homer  the  latter  end  of  May  called  here  for  Intelligence. 
I  acquainted  him  that  the  Succours  were  expected  and  sent 
him  a  Spanish  Pilot  to  shew  him  where  to  meet  with  them. 
He  met  with  ten  sail^  which  had  been  divided  from  the  Fleet 
by  storm,  but  having  lost  18  men  in  action  against  them, 
instead  of  coming  here  for  the  defence  of  this  Place  he 
stood  again  for  Charles  Town  to  repair,  and  I  having  cer- 
tain advices  of  the  arrival  of  the  Spanish  Fleet  at  Augus- 
tine wrote  to  the  Commander  of  His  Majesty's  Ships  at 
Charles  Town  to  come  to  our  assistance,  t 

"  I  sent  Lieut.  Maxwell^  who  arrived  there  and  delivered 
the  letters  the  12th  of  June,  and  afterwards  Lieut.  MacKay, 
who  arrived  and  delivered  letters  on  the  20th  of  June. 

"  Lieut.  Colonel  Cook  who  was  then  at  Charles  Town,  and 
was  Engineer,  hastened  to  England,  and  his  son-in-law 
Ensign  Eyre,  Sub-Engineer,  was  also  in  Charles  Town,  and 
did  not  arrive  here  till  the  action  was  over ;  so,  for  want  of 
help,  I  myself  was  obliged  to  do  the  duty  of  Engineer. 

"The  Havannah  Fleet,  being  joined  by  that  of  Florida, 
composed  51  sail,  with  land  men  on  board,  a  List  of  whom 
is  annexed :  they  were  separated,  and  I  received  advice 
from  Capt.  Dunbar  (who  lay  at  Fort  William  with  the 
Guard  Schooner  of  14  Guns  and  ninety  men)  that  a  Spanish 
Fleet  of  14  sail  had  attempted  to  come  in  there,:}:  but  being 


*  These  he  attacked,  driving  some  of  them  ashore. 

t  "Never  did  the  Carolineans,"  says  Mr.  Hewitt,  "make  so  bad  a  figure  in  the  defence 
of  their  country.  When  union,  activity  and  dispatch  were  so  requisite,  they  ingloriously 
stood  at  a  distance,  and  suffering  private  pique  to  prevail  over  public  spirit,  seemed 
determined  to  risk  the  safety  of  their  country,  rather  than  General  Oglethorpe  by  their 
help  should  gain  the  smallest  degree  of  honour  and  reputation.  *  *  *  The  Georgians 
with  justice  blamed  their  more  powerful  neighbors,  who,  bj-  keeping  at  a  distance  in  the 
day  of  danger,  had  almost  hazarded  the  loss  of  both  provinces." 

Historical  Account  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Colonies  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  vol.  ii,  pp.  119,  120.     London.  1779. 

tThis  was  on  the  21st  of  June.  Most  of  the  accounts  place  the  number  of  Spanish 
vessels,  then  attempting  to  enter  Amelia  Sound,  at  nine,  instead  of  fourteen. 


I 


PREDURICA.  105 

drove  out  by  the  Cannon  of  the  Fort  and  Schooner  they 
came  in  at  Cumberland  Sound.  I  sent  over  Capt.  Horton 
to  land  the  Indians  and  Troops  on  Cumberland.  I  fol- 
lowed myself  and  was  attacked  in  the  Sound,  but  with  two 
Boats  fought  my  way  through.  Lieut.  Tolson,  who  was 
to  have  supported  me  with  the  third  and  strongest  boat, 
quitted  me  in  the  fight  and  run  into  a  River  where  he  hid 
himself  till  next  day  when  he  returned  to  St.  Simons  with  an 
account  that  I  was  lost  but  soon  after  found.  I  was  arrived 
there  before  him,  for  which  misbehaviour  I  put  him  in 
arrest  and  ordered  him  to  be  tryed.  The  Enemy  in  this 
action  suffered  so  much*  that  the  day  after  they  ran  out 
to  sea  and  returned  for  St.  Augustine  and  did  not  join 
their  great  Fleet  till  after  their  Grenadiers  were  beat  by 
Land. 

"  I  drew  the  Garrison  from  St.  Andrews,  reinforced  Fort 
William,  and  returned  to  St.    Simons  with  the  Schooner. 

"  Another  Spanish  Fleet  appeared  the  28th  off  the  Barr  : 
by  God's  blessing  upon  several  measures  taken  I  delayed 
their  coming  in  till  the  5th  of  July.  I  raised  another  Troop 
of  Rangers,  which  with  the  other  were  of  great  service. 

"  I  took  Captain  Thomson's  shipt  into  the  service  for 
defence  of  the  Harbour.  I  imbargoe'd  all  the  Vessells, 
taking  their  men '  for  the  service,  and  gave  large  Gifts 
and  promises  to  the  Indians  so  that  every  day  we  in- 
creased in  numbers.  I  gave  large  rewards  to  men  who 
distinguished  themselves  upon  any  service,  freed  the  ser- 
vantSjJ   brought   down   the   Highland  Company,  and  Com- 

*In  endeavoring  to  reach  St.  Augustine  for  repairs,  four  of  their  vessels  foundered  at 
sea. 

tThis  was  the  merchant  ship  "Success,"  mounting  twenty  guns.  The  General  sent  one 
hundred  soldiers  on  board  of  her  and  filled  her  with  necessary  military  stores.  Thus  she 
became,  in  tha language  of  one  of  her  crew,  "ready  for  twice  the  number  of  Spaniards." 

tFoT  their  passage  and  outfit,  they  had  agreed  to  labor  for  the  Trust  for  a  given  period. 
14 


106  fHE  DEAD  TOWNS   0^  GEORGIA. 

pany  of  Boatmen,  filled  up  as  far  as  we  had  guns.  All 
the  vessels  being  thus  prepared*  on  the  5th  of  July  with 
a  leading  Gale  and  Spring  Tide  36  sail  of  Spanish  ves- 
sels run  into   the   Harbour   in   line   of  Battle. 

"  We  cannonaded  them  very  hotly  from  the  Shipping  and 
Batterys.  They  twice  attempted  to  board  Capt.  Thom- 
son t  but  were  repulsed.  They  also  attempted  to  board 
the  Schooner,  but  were  repulsed  by  Capt.  Dunbar  with 
a   Detachment   of  the   Regiment   on   board. 

"  I  was  with  the  Indians,  Rangers,  and  Batterys,  and  some- 
times on  board  the  ships,  and  left  Major  Heron  with  the 
Regiment.  It  being  impossible  for  me  to  do  my  duty  as 
General  and  be  constantly  with  the  Regiment,  therefore  it 
was  absolutely  necessary  for  His  Majesty's  service  to  have 
a  Lieut.  Colonel  present,  which  I  was  fully  convinced  of 
by  this  day's  experience.  I  therefore  appointed  Major 
Heron  to  be  Lieut.  Colonel,  and  hope  that  your  Grace 
will  move  His  Majesty  to  be  pleased  to  approve  the  same. 

"The  Spaniards  after  an  obstinate  Engagement  of  four 
hours,  in  which  they  lost  abundance  of  men,  passed  all  our 
Batterys  and  Shipping  and  got  out  of  shot  of  them  towards 
Frederica.  Our  Guard  Sloop  was  disabled  and  sunk  :  one 
of  our  Batterys  blown  up,  and  also  some  of  our  Men  on 

♦This  little  fleet  consisted  of  the  "Success,"  Captain  Thompson,  of  twenty  gnns  and 
one  hiindred  and  ten  men,  with  springs  ujjon  her  cables, — General  Oglethorpe's  schooner 
of  fourteen  guns  and  eighty  men, — and  the  sloop  "St.  Philip,"  of  tmirteen  guns  and 
eighty  men.  Eight  York  sloops  were  close  in  shore,  with  one  man  on  board  each  of  them, 
whose  instructions  were,  in  case  the  enemy  were  about  to  capture,  to  sink  or  run  them 
on  shore. 

Gentleman's  Magazine,  vol.  xn,  p.  495. 

t  This  attempt  was  made  by  the  Spanish  Commodore  with  a  ship  of  twenty-two  guns, 
and  a  settee  with  an  eighteen  pounder  and  two  nine  pounders  in  her  bow.  So  stout  was 
the  resistance  offered  by  Captain  Thompson  with  the  great  guns  of  his  ship,  by  Captain 
Carr  and  his  company  of  Marines,  and  by  Lieutenant  Wall  and  Ensign  Otterbridge  in 
charge  of  a  detachment  from  Oglethorpe's  Regiment,  that  the  Spaniards  were  obliged  to 
retire  with  loss.  A  snow  of  sixteen  guns  at  the  same  time  attempted  to  board  the  Guard 
Schooner,  but  was  repulsed  by  Captain  Dunbar, 

See  Harris'  Complete  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  vol.  ii,  p.  341.    London,  1748. 


FREDEBICA.  107 

board  Capt.  Thomson,  upon  which  I  called  a  Council  of 
War  at  the  head  of  the  Regiment  where  it  was  unanimously- 
resolved  to  march  to  Frederica  to  get  there  before  the 
Enemy  and  defend  that  Place.  To  destroy  all  the  Provi- 
sions, Vessels,  Artillery,  &c.,  at  St.  Simon's, 'that  they  might 
not  fall  into  the  Enemy's  hands. 

"This  was  accordingly  executed,  having  first  drawn  aU 
the  Men  on  shoar  which  before  had  defended  the  shipping. 
I  myself  staid  till  the  last,  and  the  wind  coming  fortunately 
about  I  got  Capt.  Thompson's  Ship,  our  Guard  Schooner, 
and  our  Prize  Sloop  to  sea  and  sent  them  to  Charles  Town. 
This  I  did  in  the  face  and  spite  of  thirty-six  sail  of  the 
Enemy :  as  for  the  rest  of  the  Vessells,  I  could  not  save 
them,  therefore  was  obliged  to  destroy  them. 

"I  must  recomend  to  His  Majesty  the  Merchants  who 
are  sufferers  thereby,  since  their  loss  was  in  great  measure 
the  preserving  the  Province. 

"We  arrived  at  Frederica,  and  the  Enemy  landed  at  St. 
Simon's.* 

"  On  the  7th  a  party  of  their's  marched  toward  the  Town  : 
our  Rangers  discovered  them  and  brought  an  account  of 
their  march,  on  which  I  advanced  with  a  party  of  Indians, 
Rangers,  and  the  Highland  Company,  ordering  the  Regiment 
to  follow,  being  resolved  to  engage  them  in  the  Defiles 
of  the  Woods  before  they  could  get  out  and  form  in  the 
open  Grounds.      I  charged  them  at  the  head  of  our  Indians, 

*  From  the  statement  made  by  live  Spanish  prisoners  captured  and  brought  in  by  the 
Craek  Indians,  it  appeared  that  Don  Manuel  de  Monteano,  Governor  of  St.  Augustine,  was 
the  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Expedition,  and  that  Major  General  Antonio  de  Redondo 
was  Chief  Engineer.  He  and  two  Brigadier  Generals  at^companied  the  forces  which  came 
from  Cuba.  The  aggregate  strength  of  the  expedition  was  about  five  thousand  men,  of 
whom  four  thousand  three  hundred  were  landed  on  St.  Simons. 

Heavy  scouting  parties  were  sent  out  in  every  direction  by  General  Oglethorpe  to  ob- 
serve the  movements  of  the  enemy  and  retard  any  advance  in  the  direction  of  Frederica, 
the  defences  of  which  were  being  strengthened  as  rapidly  and  as  thoroughly  as  time  and 
the  forces  at  command  would  permit. 


108  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

Highland  Men  and  Eangers,  and  God  was  pleased  to  give 
us  such  success  that  we  entirely  routed  the  first  party, 
took  one  Captain  prisoner,  and  killed  another,  and  pursued 
them  two  miles  to  an  open  Meadow  or  Savannah,  upon 
the  edge  of  which  I  posted  three  Platoons  of  the  Eegiment 
and  the  Company  of  Highland  foot  so  as  to  be  covered 
by  the  woods  from  the  Enemy  who  were  obliged  to  pass 
thro'  the  Meadow  under  our  fire.*  This  disposition  was 
very  fortunate.f  Capt.  Antonio  Barba  and  two  other 
Captains  with  100  Grenadiers  and  200  foot,  besides  Indians 
and  Negroes,  advanced  from  the  Spanish  Camp  into  the 
Savannah  with  Huzzah's  and  fired  with  great  spirit,  but 
not  seeing  our  men  by  reason  of  the  woods,  none  of  their 
shot  took  place,  but  ours  did.ij: 

*  In  this  charge  Oglethorpe  encountered  one  hundred  and  twenty  Spanish  Pioneers, 
forty  Yamassee  Indians,  and  an  equal  number  of  negroes.  So  violent  was  the  onslaught 
that  nearly  the  whole  party  was  either  captured  or  slain.  With  his  own  hands  the  Gen- 
eral captured  two  prisoners.  Captain  Sanchio  commanding  this  advance,  was  taken 
prisoner  by  Lieut.  Scroggs  of  the  Rangers,  and  Toonahowi,  although  shot  through  the 
right  arm  by  a  Spanish  officer,  drew  his  pistol  with  his  left  and  killed  his  antagonist  on 
the  spot. 

See  Wright's  Memoir  of  Oglethorpe,  p.  305. 
McCairs  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  p.  181. 

t  After  locating  his  troops,  Oglethorpe  hastened  back  to  Frederica  to  prepare  the  Ran- 
gers and  the  Marine  Company  for  action  at  a  moments  warning. 

t  Captain  McCall  furnishes  the  following  account  of  this  affair  : 

Captain  Noble  Jones,  with  a  detachment  of  regulars  and  Indians,  being  out  on  a  scout- 
ing party,  fell  in  with  a  small  detachment  in  the  enemy's  advance,  who  were  surprised 
and  made  prisoners,  not  deeming  themselves  so  far  in  front  of  the  main  ai-my.  From 
these  prisoners  information  was  received  that  the  whole  Spanish  army  was  advancing  : 
this  was  immediately  communicated  by  an  Indian  runner  to  the  General  who  detadied 
Captain  Dunbar  with  a  company  of  grenadiers  to  join  the  regulars  and  Indians,  with 
orders  to  harrass  the  enemy  on  their  advance.  These  detachments  having  formed  a 
junction,  observed  at  a  distance  the  Spanish  army  on  the  march  :  and  taking  a  favorable 
position  near  a  marsh,  formed  an  ambuscade.  The  enemy  fortunatelj'  halted  within  a 
hundred  paces  of  this  position,  stacked  their  arms,  made  fires,  and  were  preparing  their 
kettles  for  cooking,  when  a  horse  observed  some  of  the  party  in  ambuscade,  and,  fright- 
ened at  the  uniform  of  the  regulars,  began  to  snort,  and  gave  the  alarm.  The  Spaniards 
ran  to  their  arms,  but  were  shot  down  in  great  numbers  by  Oglethorpe's  detatchment, 
who  continued  invisible  to  the^enemy  ;  and  after  repeated  attempts  to  form,  in  which  some 
of  their  principal  officers  fell,  they  fled  with  the  utmost  precipitation,  leaving  their  camp 
equipage  on  the  field,  and  never  halted  until  they  got  under  cover  of  the  guns  of  their 
battery  and  ships.  General  Oglethorpe  had  detached  Major  Horton  with  a  reinforcement, 
who  arrived  only  in  time  to  join  in  the  pursuit.    So  complete  was  the  surprise  of  the  enemy. 


FREDERICA.  109 

"  Some  Platoons  of  ours  in  the  heat  of  the  fight,  the  air 
being  darkened  with  the  smoak,  and  a  shower  of  rain  falling, 
retired  in  disorder. 

"I  hearing  the  firing,  rode  towards  it,  and  at  near  two 
miles  from  the  place  of  Action,  met  a  great  many  men  in 
disorder  who  told  me  that  ours  were  routed  and  Lieut. 
Sutherland  killed.  I  ordered  them  to  halt  and  march  back 
against  the  Enemy,  which  orders  Capt.  Demere  and  Ensign 
Gibbon  obeyed,  but  another  Officer  did  not,  but  made  the 
best  of  his  way  to  Town.  As  I  heard  the  fire  continue  I 
concluded  our  Men  could  not  be  quite  beaten,  and  that 
my  immediate  assistance  might  preserve  them :  therefore 
spurred  on  and  arrived  just  as  the  fire  was  done.  I  found 
the  Spaniards  intirely  routed  by  one  Platoon  of  the  Regi- 
ment, under  the  Comand  of  Lieut.  Sutherland,  and  the 
Highland  Company  under  the  Comand  of  Lieut.  Charles 
MacKay. 

"  An  Officer  whom  the  Prisoners  said  was  Capt.  Don 
Antonio  Barba*  was  taken  Prisoner,  but  desperately 
wounded,  and  two  others  were  prisoners,  and  a  great  many 
dead  upon  the  spot.  Lieut.  Sutherland,  Lieut.  Charles 
MacKay  and  Sergt.  Stuart  having  distinguished  themselves 
upon  this  occasion,  I  appointed  Lieut.  Sutherland  Brigade 
Major,  and  Sergt.  Stuart  second  Ensign. 

that  many  fled  without  their  arms  ;  others  in  a  rapid  retreat  discharged  their  muskets 
over  their  shoulders  at  their  pursuers  :  and  many  were  killed  by  the  loaded  arms  which 
were  left  on  the  ground:  generally  the  Spaniards  fired  so  much  at  random  that  the  trees 
were  pruned  by  the  balls  from  their  muskets  ;  their  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  prison- 
ers, was  estimated  at  five  hundred.  The  loss  in  Oglethorpe's  detachment  was  very  in- 
considerable. From  the  signal  ^^ctory  obtained  over  the  enemy,  and  the  great  slaughter 
amongst  the  Spanish  troops,  the  scene  of  action  just  described  has  ever  since  been  de- 
nominated the  bloody  marshA 

+  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  185,  187.    Savannah,  1811. 

Compare  Spalding's  Life  of  Oglethorpe,  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society, 
vol.  I.  pp.  281-284.     Savannah.  1840. 

*  The  Spaniards  regarded  the  loss  of  this  oflacer  as  more  severe  than  that  of  a  thousand 
men. 


110  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

"Capt.  Demere  and  Ensign  Gibbon  being  arrived  with 
the  men  they  had  rallied,  Lieut.  Cadogan  with  an  advanced 
party  of  the  Kegiment,  and  soon  after  the  whole  Kegiment, 
Indians,  and  Rangers,  I  marched  down  to  a  causeway  over  a 
marsh  very  near  the  Spanish  Camp  over  which  all  were 
obliged  to  pass,  and  thereby  stopt  those  who  had  been 
dispersed  in  the  fight  in  the  Savannah  from  getting  to  the 
Spauish  Camp.*  Having  passed  the  night  there,  the  Indian 
scouts  in  the  morning  advanced  to  the  Spanish  Camp  and 
discovered  they  were  all  retired  into  the  ruins  of  the  Fort 
and  were  making  Intrenchments  under  shelter  of  the  cannon 
of  the  ships.  That  they  guessed  them  to  be  above  4,000 
men.  I  thought  it  imprudent  to  attack  them  defended  by 
Cannon  with  so  small  a  number  but  marched  back  to 
Fredericaf  to  refresh  the  soldiers,  and  sent  out  Partys  of 
Indians  and  Rangeis  to  harrass  the  Enemy.  I  also  ordered 
into  arrest  the  officers  who  commanded  the  Platoons  that 
retired. 

"  I  appointed  a  General  Staif :  Lieut.  Hugh  MacKay  and 
Lieut.  Maxwell  Aids  de  Camp,  and  Lieut.  Sutherland 
Brigade  Major.  J  On  ye  11th  of  July  the  Great  Galley 
and  two  little  ones  came  up  the  river  towards  thB  Town. 
We  fired  at  them  with  the  few  Guns,  so  warmly  that  they 
retired,  and  I  followed  them  with  our  Boats  till  they  got 
under  the  cannon  of  their  ships  which  lay  in  the  sound. 

"Having  intelligence  from  the  Spanish  Camp  that  they 
had  lost  4  Captains  and  upwards  of  200  men  in  the  last 
Action,   besides  a  great  many  killed  in  the  sea-fight,  and 

*  In  these  two  engagements  the  enemy  had  sustained  a  loss  of  two  Captains,  one  Lieu- 
tenant, two  Sergeants,  two  Drummers,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  privates  killed  ;  and 
one  Captain  and  nineteen  men  captured. 

t  This  was  on  the  8th  of  July. 

t  During  the  9th  and  10th  of  July  all  hands  were  employed  on  the  works  at  Frederica, 
except  the  scouts  and  Indians;  the  latter  brought  in  some  scalps  and  prisoners. 


PREDERICA.  Ill 

several    killed   in   the   night  bj  the    Indians   even   within 

or  near   the   camp,   and   that   they  had   held  a  Council  of 

[War  in  which   there  were   great   divisions,  insomuch   that 

bhe   Forces   of    Cuba   separated   from   those   of    Augustine 

fand  the  Italick  Regiment of  Dragoons  separated 

from  them  both  at  a  distance  from  the  rest  near  the  woods, 
and  that  there  was  a  general  Terror  amongst  them,  upon 
which  I  was  resolved  to  beat  up  their  Quarters  in  the 
night  and  marching  down  with  the  largest  body  of  men 
I  could  make,  I  halted  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  their 
camp  to  form,  intending  to  leave  the  Troops  there  tiQ  I 
had  well  reconitred  the  Enemy's  disposition. 

"A  French  Man  who  without  my  knowledge  was  come 
down  amongst  the  volunteers  fired  his  Gun  and  deserted. 
Our  Indians  in  vain  persued  and  could  not  take  him. 
Upon  this,  concluding  we  were  discovered,  I  divided  the 
Drums  in  different  parts  and  beat  the  Grenadiers  march 
for  about  half  an  hour,  then  ceased,  and  we  marched  back 
with  silence. 

"The  next  day*  I  prevailed  with  a  Prisoner,  and  gave 
him  a  sum  of  money,  to  carry  a  letter  privately  and  de- 
liver it  to  that  French  Man  who  had  deserted.  This  Letter 
was  wrote  in  French  as  if  from  a  friend  of  his,  telling  him 
he  had  received  the  money  that  he  should  strive  to  make 
the  Spaniards  beheve  the  English  weris  weak.  That  he 
should  undertake  to  pilot  up  their  Boats  and  Galleys  and 
then  bring  them  under  the  Woods  where  he  knew  the 
Hidden  Batterys  were  ;  that  if  he  could  bring  that  about, 
he  should  have  double  the  reward  he  had  already  received. 
That  the  French  Deserters  should  have  all  that  had  been 
promised   to   them.     The   Spanish   Prisoner  got  into  their 

*  July  13th. 


112        •  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  01*  GEORGIA. 

Camp  and  was  immediately  carried  before  their  General 
Don  Manuel  de  Montiano.  He  was  asked  how  he  escaped 
and  whither  he  had  any  letters,  but  denying  his  having  any, 
was  strictly  searched  and  the  letter  found,  and  he  upon 
being  pardoned,  confessed  that  he  had  received  money  to 
deliver  it  to  the  Frenchman,  for  the  letter  was  not  directed. 
The  Frenchman  denied  his  knowing  anything  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  Letter  or  having  received  any  Money  or  Cor- 
respondence with  me,  notwithstanding  which,  a  Council  of 
War  was  held  and  they  deemed  the  French  Man  to  be  a 
double  spy,  but  General  Montiano  would  not  suffer  him  to 
be  executed,  having  been  imployed  by  him  :  however,  they 
imbarqued  all  their  Troops,^  and  halted  under  Jekyl,  they 
also  confined  all  the  French  on  board  and  imbarked  with 
such  precipitation  that  they  left  behind  them  Cannon,  &c., 
and   those   dead   of    their   wounds,   unburied.      The    Cuba 


*  St.  Simon's  town  was  destroyed  by  the  Spaniards  prior  to  their  evacuation  of  the 
island.  To  a  writer  in  the  London  Magazine  for  1745,t  who  made  his  observations  in  the 
early  part  of  1743,  are  we  indebted  for  the  following  notice  of  this  place  : — "  At  the  South 
Point  of  this  Island  of  St.  Simon,  are  the  Ruins  of  the  Town  of  St.  Simons  destroyed  by  the 
Spaniards  at  their  Invasion.  By  the  remaining  Vestiges  it  miist  have  been  a  very  uniform 
Place  ;  and  the  Situation  is  quite  charming,  tho'  it  now  makes  one  melancholy  to  see 
such  a  Desolation  in  so  new  a  Country.  The  only  Building  they  left  standing  was  one 
House  which  they  had  consecrated  for  a  ('hapel.  How  different  the  Proceedings  of  the 
more  generous  English  even  in  their  Parts  who  never  leave  behind  them  such  direful 
Remembrances  ;  but  here  religious  Fury  goes  Hand  in  Hand  with  Conqviest,  resolv'd  to 
ruin  whom  they  can't  convert.  The  Fort  has  some  Kemains  still,  and  seems  to  have  been 
no  extraordinary  affair  ;  tho'  no  Place  was  ever  better  defended,  and  the  Enemies  seem, 
by  their  Works  and  Intrenchments  to  have  thought  themselves  sure  of  keeping  the  Town, 
but  found  themselves  wofully  mistaken.  Down  the  Beich  to  the  westward  is  a  Look-out 
of  Tappy-work  which  is  a  very  good  Mark  for  standing  over  the  Bar  into  the  Harbour  : 
and  on  the  opposite  Point  of  Jekyl  Island  is  a  very  remarkable  Hammock  of  Trees  much 
taken  notice  of  by  Seamen  on  the  same  Account.  Somewhat  lower  and  more  Northerly  is 
the  Plantation  call 'd  Gascoign's  which  underwent  the  same  Fate  with  St.  Simons.  An 
Officer's  Command  is  station'd  at  South  Point,  who  disposes  his  Gentries  so  as  to  discover 
Vessels  some  Leagues  at  Sea,  and  upon  any  such  Discovery  an  Alarm-Gun  is  fir'd,  and  an 
Horseman  sent  up  with  Notice  to  the  Head-Quarters  which  is  nine  miles  from  this  Place, 
If  they  appear  to  make  for  the  Harbour,  a  perpendicular  mounted  Gun  is  fir'd  as  a  Signal, 
which,  by  the  Ascent  of  the  Smoke  is  a  Direction  to  a  Ship  a  long  Way  in  the  Offing,  and 
is  a  most  lucky  Contrivance.  The  road  from  hence  to  Frederica  is  cut  through  the 
Woods,  and  through  the  Marshes  rais'd  upon  a  Causeway." 

t  Page  549. 


FREDERtCA.  113 

Squadron  stood  out  to  sea  to  the  number  of  20  sail :  Gen- 
eral Montiano  with  the  Augustine  Squadron  returned  to 
Cumberland  Sound,  having  burnt  Captain  Horton's  houses, 
<fec.,  on  Jekyll.  I,  with  our  boats,  followed  him.  I  dis- 
covered a  great  many  sail  under  Fort  St.  Andrew,  of  which 
eight  appeared  to  me  plain,  but  being  too  strong  for  me 
to  attack,  I  sent  the  Scout  Boats  back. 

"  I  went*  with  my  own  Cutter  and  landed  a  man  on  Cum- 
berland who  carried  a  letter  from  me  to  Lieut.  Stuart  at  Fort 
William  with  orders  to  defend  himself  to  the  last  extremity. 

"Having  discovered  our  Boats  &  believing  we  had  landed 
Indians  in  the  night  they  set  sail  with  great  haste,  in  so 
much  that  not  having  time  to  imbarque,  they  killed  40 
horses  which  they  had  taken  there,  and  burnt  the  houses. 
The  Galleys  and  small  Craft  to  the  number  of  fifteen  went 
thro'  the  inland  Water  Passages.  They  attempted  to  land 
near  Fort  William,  but  were  repulsed  by  the  Rangers  ; 
they  then  attacked  it  with  Cannon  and  small  Arms  from 
the  water  for  three  Hours,  but  the  place  was  so  bravely 
defended  by  Lieut.  Alexander  Stuart  that  they  were  re- 
pulsed and  ran  out  to  sea  where  twelve  other  sail  of 
Spanish  vessells  had  lain  at  anchor  without  the  Barr  during 
the  Attack  without  stirring,  but  the  Galleys  being  chased 
out,  they  hoisted  all  the  sails  they  could  and  stood  to  the 
Southward.  I  followed  them  with  the  Boats  to  Fort  Wil- 
liam, and  from  thence  sent  out  the  Rangers  and  some 
Boats  who  followed  them  to  Saint  Johns,  but  they  went 
off  rowing  and  sailing  to  St.  Augustine. 

"  After  the  news  of  their  defeat  in  the  Grenadier  Sa- 
vannah arrived  at  Charles  Town,  the  Men  of  War  and 
a  number  of  Carolina  People  raised  in   a  hurry  set   out 

*July  16th. 
16 


114  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OE   GEORCHA. 

and  came  off  this  Barr  after  the  Spaniards  had  been 
chased  quite  out  of  this  Colony,  where  they  dismissed  the 
Carolina  vessels,  and  Capt.  Hardy  promised  in  his  Let- 
ters to  cruise  off  St.  Augustine. 

"We  have  returned  thanks  to  God  for  our  deliverance, 
have  set  all  the  hands  I  possibly  could  to  work  upon  the 
Fortifications,  and  have  sent  to  the  Northward  to  raise 
men  ready  to  form  another  Battalion  against  His  Majes- 
ty's Orders  shall  arrive  for  that  purpose.  I  have  retained 
Thompson's  ship,  have  sent  for  Cannon  Sliott,  &c.,  for  Provi- 
sions and  all  kinds  of  stores  since  I  expect  the  Enemy,  who 
(tho'  greatly  terrified)  lost  but  few  men  in  comparison  of 
their  great  numbers,  as  soon  as  they  have  recovered  their 
fright  will  attack  us  with  more  caution  and  better  discipline. 

"I  hope  His  Majesty  will  approve  the  measures  I  have 
taken,  and  I  must  entreat  Your  Grace  to  lay  my  humble 
request  before  His  Majesty  that  he  would  be  graciously 
pleased  to  order  Troops,  Artillery  and  other  Necessarys 
sufficient  for  the  defence  of  this  Frontier  and  the  neigh- 
boring Provinces,  or  give  such  direction  as  His  Majesty 
shall  think  proper,  and  I  do  not  doubt  but  with  a  moderate 
support  not  only  to  be  able  to  defend  these  Provinces, 
but  also  to  dislodge  the  Enemy  from  St.  Augustine  if  I 
have  but  the  same  numbers  they  had  in  this  expedition."^ 

*For  further  account  of  this  memorable  defence,  see — 

Harris'  Complete  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  vol.  ii,  pp.  340,  342.    London,  1748. 

McCall's  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i.,  pp.  17G,  190.    Savannah,  1811. 

Hewitt's  Historical  Account  of  the  Kise  and  Progress  of  the  Colonies  of  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia,  vol.  n.,  pp.  114, 119.    London,  1779. 

Stevens'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  180, 196.    New  York,  1847. 

Harris'  Memorials  of  Oglethorpe,  pp.  250,  268.    Boston,  1840. 

Wright's  Memoir  of  Oglethorpe,  pp.  299,  317.    London,  1867. 

Spalding's  Life  of  Oglethorpe,  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  i, 
pp.  275,  284.    Savannah,  1840. 

Ram.say's  History  of  South  Carolina,  vol.  i,  pp.  144,  147.    Chaileston,  1809. 

London  Magazine,  vol.  xi,  pp.  515, 516,  568. 

Gentleman's  Magazine  for  1742,  vol.  xii,  pp.  494,  496,  550,  561, 693,  694. 

Gentleman's  Magazine  for  1743,  vol.  xiii,  pp.  84,  638,  639. 


FREDERICA.  115 


Tliat  a  small  force  of  between  six  and  seven  liimdred 
men,  assisted  by  a  few  weak  vessels,  should  have  put  to 
flight  an  array  of  nearly  five  thousand  Spanish  troops, 
supported  by  a  powerful  fleet,  and  amply  equipped  for 
the  expedition,  seems  almost  incapable  of  explanation.* 
General  Oglethorpe's  bravery  and  dash,  the  timidity  of  the 
invaders,  coupled  with  the  dissentions  which  arose  in  their 
ranks,  and  the  apprehensions  caused  by  the  French  letter, 
furnish  the  only  plausible  explanation  of  the  victory. 
Whitefield's  commentary  was  :  "  The  deliverance  of  Georgia 
from  the  Spaniards  is  such  as  cannot  be  paralleled  but 
by  some  instances  out  of  the  Old  Testament."  The  defeat 
of  so  formidable  an  expedition  by  such  a  handful  of  men 
was  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  all.  Had  Don  Manuel 
de  Monteano  pushed  his  forces  vigorously  forward,  the 
stoutest  resistance  offered  along  his  shoi*t  Une  of  march 
and  from  the  walls  of  the  town  would  have  been  ineffectual 
for  the  salvation  of  Frederica.  Against  the  contingency  of 
an  evacuation  of  this  strong-hold  Oglethorpe  had  provided. 


♦The  following  estimate  was  made  of  the  forces  engaged  : 

Spanish  Troops. 

One  regiment  of  dismounted  Dragoons 400 

Havauna  Regiment.   500 

Havauna  Militia 1,000 

Regiment  of  Artillery 400 

Florida  Militia 400 

Battalion  of  Mulattoes 300 

Black  Regiment 400 

Indians 90 

Marines 600 

Seamen 1,000 

Total 5,090 

General  Oglethorpb's  Command. 

His  Regiment 472 

Company  of  Rangers 30 

Highlanders 50 

Armed  Militia 40 

Indians 60 

Total 652 

See  McCall's  History  of  Georgia,  vol  i,  p.  196.    Savannah,  1811. 


116  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

as  best  lie  could,  by  a  concentration  of  boats  in  which  to 
transport  the  garrison  to  Darien^  by  way  of  the  cut 
previously  made  through  General's  island.  This  necessity, 
however,  was  fortunately  never  laid  upon  him.  If  the 
naval  forces  at  Charleston  had  responded  to  his  requisitions, 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  Spanish  fleet  might  have 
been  captured.  Oglethorpe's  success  in  his  military  opera- 
tions may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  he  constantly  acted 
on  the  offensive.  He  was  never  content  to  grant  any  peace 
to  an  enemy  who  was  within  striking  distance.  The  temerity 
and  persistency  of  his  attacks  inspired  his  followers,  and 
impressed  his  antagonist  with  the  belief  that  the  arm 
delivering  the  blow  was  stronger  than  it  really  was. 

The  memory  of  this  defense  of  St.  Simons  island 
and  the  southern  frontier  is  one  of  the  proudest  in  the 
annals  of  Georgia.  Thus  was  the  existence  of  the  Col- 
ony perpetuated.  Thus  was  hurled  back  in  wrath  and 
mortification  a  powerful  army  of  invasion  whose  avowed 
object  was   to    show  no  quarter,t   but    crush   out    of    ex- 

*  Of  the  condition  of  tliis  town  in  1743  we  find  the  following  account  in  the  London 
Magazine  for  1745  :t  "Our  first  Stage  we  made  New  Invei-ness,  or  the  Dsirien,  on  the  Conti- 
nent near  20  miles  from  Prederica;  which  is  a  Settlement  of  Highlanders  living  and  dress- 
ing in  their  own  Country  Fashion,  very  happily  and  contentedly.  There  is  an  Indepen- 
dent Company  of  Foot  of  them,  consisting  of  70  men  who  have  been  of  good  service.  The 
Town  is  regularly  laid  ont,  and  built  of  Wood  mostly,  divided  into  Streets  and  Squares  ; 
before  the  Town  is  the  Parade,  and  a  Fort  not  yet  finish'd.  It  is  situated  upon  a  very 
high  Bluff,  or  Point  of  Land,  from  whence,  with  a  few  cannon,  they  can  scour  the  River, 
otherwise  it  is  surrounded  by  Pine-barrens,  and  Woods,  and  there  is  a  Rout  by  Land  to 
Savannah  and  Fort  Argyle,  which  is  statedly  reconnoitred  by  a  Troop  of  Highland  Rangers 
who  do  duty  here.  The  Company  and  Troop,  armed  in  the  Highland  manner,  make  an 
extreme  good  appearance  under  arms.  The  whole  Settlement  may  be  said  to  be  a  brave 
and  industrious  People  ;  but  were  more  numerous,  planted  more,  and  raised  more  cattle 
before  the  Invasion,  with  which  they  drove  a  good  Trade  to  the  Southward  ;  but  Things 
seem  daily  mending  with  them.  They  are  forc'd  to  keep  a  very  good  Guard  in  this 
Place,  it  lies  so  open  to  the  Insults  of  the  French,  and  Spanish  Indians,  who  once  or  twice 
have  shewn  Straglers  some  very  bloody  Tricks."  t  Page  551. 

t  Samuel  Cloake,— who  was  a  prisoner  on  board  the  "Pretty  Nancy  "  taken  by  the 
Spaniards  from  the  English,  and  fitted  out  for  the  invasion  of  Georgia,— made  oath  that 
during  the  time  they  lay  off  the  bar  the  Spaniards  often  "  whetted  their  swords  and  held 
their  knives  to  this  deponent's  and  other  English  prisoners'  throats,  saying  they  would 
cut  the  throats  of  those  they  should  take  at  Georgia." 

Harris'  Complete  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  pp.  342,  343.    Loudon,  1748. 


FREDERICA.  117 

istence  the  English  colonies.  Had  success  attended  the 
demonstration  against  Frederica,  the  Enemy  would 
have  advanced  upon  the  more  northern  strong-holds. 
Appreciating  this,  and  deeply  sensible  of  their  great 
obligations  to  General  Oglethorpe  for  the  deliver- 
ance vouchsafed  at  his  hands,  the  Governors  of  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  and 
North  Carolina,  ^  addressed  special  letters  to  him  "  thank- 
ing him  for  the  invaluable  services  he  had  rendered  to 
the  British-American  Provinces ;  congratulating  him  upon 
his  success  and  the  great  renown  he  had  acquired  ;  and 
expressing  their  gratitude  to  the  Supreme  Governor  of 
Nations  for  placing  the  destiny  of  the  southern  colo- 
nies under  the  direction  of  a  General  so  well  qualified 
for   the  important   trust." 

Upon  the  disappearance  of  the  Spanish  forces  Ogle- 
thorpe at  once  bent  his  energies  to  strengthening  the 
fortifications  at  Frederica  and  repairing  the  damages 
which  had  been  sustained  by  the  southern  forts.  For 
a  long  time  he  seems  to  have  counted  upon  a  return 
of  the  expedition,  and  could  not  bring  his  mind  to  believe 
that  the  enterprise  upon  which  so  much  preparation  and 
money  had  been  expended  would  be  thus  hastily  and 
almost  causelessly  abandoned.  Within  a  few  months 
the  works  upon  St.  Simons,  Jekyll,  and  Cumberland 
islands  were  stronger  than  ever.  What  those  additional 
defensive  works  at  Frederica  were,  we  shall  shortly  see. 
Not  content  with  having  repulsed  the  Spaniards  in 
their  effort  to  crush  the  colony,  General  Oglethorpe  was 
soon   again   engaged  in   "  carrying  the   war   into    Africa." 


*  The  governor  of  South  Carolina  did  not  unite  in  these  congratulations  and   thanks 
but  the  people  of  Port  Royal  did,  much  to  his  chagrin. 


118  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

Finding  the  enemy  so  strong  in  St.  Augustine  that  they 
defeated  all  the  parties  of  Indians  he  sent  against 
them,  ascertaining  that  a  large  detachment  was  march- 
ing towards  the  river  St.  Mattheo,  and  concluding  that 
this  was  a  movement  to  extend  their  quarters  so  as 
to  be  prepared  for  the  proper  location  and  accommo- 
dation of  reinforcements  expected  from  Havana  in  the 
spring,  taking  with  him  a  considerable  body  of  Creek 
warriors,  a  detachment  from  the  Highland  company  of 
Rangers,  and  a  portion  of  his  regiment,  Oglethorpe 
landed  by  night  in  Florida  in  March,  1743,  and,  mov- 
ing rapidly,  drove  the  enemy,  with  loss,  within  the 
lines  of  St.  Augustine.  Having  disposed  his  command 
in  ambush,  the  General,  with  a  small  party,  advanced 
within  sight  of  the  town,  intending  to  skirmish  and 
draw  the  garrison  out.  The  enemy  declined  to  leave 
their  fortifications  f  and  the  English,  being  too  weak  to 
attack,  and  having  compelled  the  Spaniards  to  abandon 
their  advanced  posts  in  Florida,  returned,  having  per- 
formed the  extraordinary  march  of  ninety-six  miles  in 
four  days.f  This  was  the  last  expedition  led  by  the 
General    against  the   Spaniards.  J 

Still  persuaded   that   the    attack  upon  Frederica  would 
be   renewed  at   an   early  day,  he   continued  to  place   the 

*  In  the  language  of  Greneral  Oglethorpe,  "  Oiey  were  so  meek  there  was  no  provoking  them." 

+  See  General  Oglethorpe's  letters  of  the   12th  and  2l8t  of  March,  1743.    Collections  of 
the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  ni,  pp.  149,  151.    Savannah,  1873. 
London  Magazine  for  1743,  vol.  xir,  pp.  35G,  357. 
London  Gazette,  July  9,1743. 

t  This  demonstration  had  the  eftect  of  restraining  the  Enemy  within  the  lines  of  St. 
Augustine;  and  the  active  cruizing  of  the  English  Guard  Schooner  and  Scout  Boats  held 
in  check  the  privateers  which  were  in  the  habit  of  annoying  the  navigation  to  the  south- 
ward. "  In  fine,"  writes  a  Charles-Town  merchant  to  his  correspondent  in  London,  un- 
der date  August  10,  1743,  "  Georgia  is  a  Gibraltar  to  this  Province  and  North  America,  how- 
ever insignificant  some  People  may  make  it." 

London  Magaaine  for  1743,  vol.  xu,  p.  567. 


I 


FKEDERICA.  119 

frontier  in  the  best  possible  state  of  defense.  Until  he 
left  Georgia  on  the  23d  of  July,  1743,  never  again  to 
return,  he  resided  at  his  cottage  on  St.  Simons  island. 
Of  all  the  places  planted  and  nurtured  by  him,  none 
so  warmly  enlisted  his  energies  and  engaged  his  constant 
solicitude  as  the  fortified  town  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Alatamaha. 

Upon  the  General's  departure,  William  Stephens 
was  left  as  Deputy  General  of  the  Colony,  and  Major 
Horton,  as  military  commander  at  Frederica.  With  the 
civil  matters  of  the  province  Major  Horton  had  no 
concern  except  where  his  assistance,  as  commander  in 
chief  of  the  military,  was  occasionally  invoked  to  enforce 
the  measures  of  the  president  and  council.  In  such 
instanc'es  he  acted  with  calmness  and  humanity,  and  se- 
cured the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  better  class  of  the 
colonists. 

On  the  22nd  of  March,  1743,  the  magazine  at  Fred- 
erica  was  blown  up,  to  the  general  alarm  and  regret 
of  the  inhabitants.  Although  it  contained,  at  the  time, 
three  thousand  bombs,  so  well  bedded  were  they,  but 
Uttle  damage  occurred.  A  vagabond  Irishman  was  sus- 
pected  of  ha\dng   fired   the   magazine.* 

We  have  two  descriptions  of  Frederica  in  1743, — the 
period  of  its  greatest  prosperity  and  importance, — which 
we   make   no   apology   for   transcribing. 

The  first  is  from  the  lips  of  a  captain  conversant 
with   the   appearance   and   condition   of  the   town. 

Captain  John  Mac  Clellan,  who  had  left  Georgia 
on   the   31st  of  January,  1743,  on  his  arrival  in  England 

*  See  McCall's  Georgia,  vol.  i,  p.  203.    Savannah,  1811. 
Gentleman's  Magazine  for  1744,  vol.  xiv,  p.  393. 
London  Magazine  for  1744,  vol.  xin,  p.  359. 


120  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

reported  the  colonists  busily  engaged  in  placing  them- 
selves in  the  best  posture  of  defense,  in  anticipation  of 
a  second  attack  from  the  Spaniards ;  that  Fort  William 
had  been  fortified  anew  with  brick  work,  and  that 
"  great  numbers  of  Men  were  employ'd  in  compleating 
the  Fortifications  at  Frederica,  the  Walls  whereof  are 
judged  strong  enough  to  be  Proof  against  Eighteen- 
Pound  Shot  ;"  that  two  towers, — one  at  each  corner  of 
the  town  walls, — capable  of  holding  one  hundred  men 
each,  and  designed  to  protect  the  flanks  by  means  of  small 
arms,  had  been  erected ;  that  the  men  were  "  full  of  spirits 
and  unanimous  to  make  a  vigorous  Defence  to  the  last 
Drop  of  Blood;"  that  General  Oglethorpe  had  been  rein- 
forced by  two  hundred  men  from  Yirginia,  raised  by  Major 
Heron,  many  of  whom  were  disciplined  soldiers  from 
Colonel  Gouge's  late  regiment,  and  that  thirty  horsemen 
were  on  their  way  to  Georgia  to  "recruit  the  Rangers."* 

The  second  is  from  the  pen  of  an  intelHgent  traveler, 
who  made  his  observations  early  in  1743.  It  reads  as 
follows  : 

"  Frederica,  on  the  Island  of  St.  Simon,  the  chief  Town 
in  the  Southernmost  Part  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  is 
nearly  in  Lat:  31°  15^  North.  It  stands  on  an  Eminence, 
if  consider'd  with  regard  to  the  Marshes  before  it,  upon 
a  Branch  of  the  famous  River  Alatamaha,  which  washes 
the  West  side  of  this  agreeable  little  Island,  and,  after 
several  Windings,  disembogues  itself  into  the  Sea  at  Jekyl 
Sound.  It  forms  a  kind  of -a  Bay  before  the  Town,  and 
is  navigable  for  Vessels  of  the  largest  Burden,  which  may 
lie  along  the  wharf  in  a  secure  and  safe  Harbour ;  *  and 
may,  upon  Occasion,  haul  up  to  careen  and  refit,  the  Bot- 

*  London  Magazine  for  1743,  vol.  xn,  p.  305. 


f^REDERICA.  121 

*  torn  being  a  soft  oozy  Claj,  intermix'd  with  small  Sand 
and  Shells.  The  Town  is  defended  by  a  pretty  strong 
Fort  of  Tappy,*  which  has  several  18  Pounders  mounted 
on  a  Ravelin  in  its  Front,  and  commands  the  River  both 
upwards  and  downwards ;  and  is  surrounded  by  a  quad- 
rangular Rampart,  with  4  Bastions,  of  Earth,  well  stock- 
aded and  turfed,  and  a  palisadoed  Ditch  which  include 
also  the  King's  Storehouses,  (in  w^hich  are  kept  the  Arsenal, 
the  Court  of  Justice,  and  Chapel)  two  large  and  spacious 
Buildings  of  Brick  and  Timber ;  On  the  Rampart  are 
mounted  a  considerable  Quantity  of  Ordnance  of  several 
sizes.  The  Town  is  surrounded  by  a  Rampart,  with  Flank- 
ers, of  the  same  Thickness  with  that  round  the  Fort,  in 
Form  of  a  Pentagon,  and  a  dry  Ditch  ;  and  since  the 
famous  attempt  of  the  Spaniards  in  July  1742,t  at  the 
N.  E.  and  S.  E.  Angles  are  erected  two  strong  cover'd 
pentagonal  Bastions,  capable  of  containing  100  men  each, 
to  scour  the  Flanks  with  Small  Arms,  and  defended  by  a 
Number  of  Cannon  ;  At  their  Tops  are  Look-outs  which 
command  the  View  of  the  Country  and  the  River  for 
many  miles :  The  Roofs  are  shingled, J  but  so  contriv'd 
as  to  be  easily  clear'd  away,  if  incommodious  in  the  De- 
fense of  the  Towers.  The  whole  Circumference  of  the 
Town  is  about  a  Mile  and  a  Half,  including,  within  the 
Fortifications,  the  Camp  for  General  OgletJiorpes  Regiment, 
at  the  North  Side  of  the  Town  ;  the  Parades  on  the  West, 
and  a  small  Wood  to  the  South,  which  is  left  for  Conve- 


*  A  mixture  of  lime  made  of  Oyster-shells,  with  Sand,  Small  Shells,  &c.,  which,  when 
harden'd,  is  as  firm  as  Stone.  I  have  observ'd  prodigious  Qiiantities  of  Salt  Petje  to 
issue  from  Walls  of  this  Cement. 

tSee  Lond:  Mag:  1742,  p.  461.  515,  516,  567. 

J  Shingles  are  split  out  of  many  Sorts  of  Wood,  in  the  shape  of  Tiles,  which,  when  they 
have  been  some  Time  expos'd  to  the  Weather,  appear  of  the  Colour  of  Slate,  and  have  a 
very  pretty  Look  ;  the  Houses  in  America  are  mostly  Shingled.  ' 

16 


122  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

niency  of  Fuel  and  Pasture,  and  is  an  excellent  Blind  to. 
the  Enemy  in  case  of  an  Attack ;  in  it  is  a  small  Magazine 
of  Powder.  The  Town  has  two  Gates,  call'd  the  Land- 
port.,  and  the  Water-port;  next  to  the  latter  of  which  is 
the  Guard-house,  and  underneath  it  the  Prison  for  Malefac- 
tors, which  is  an  handsome  Building  of  Brick.  At  the 
North  End  are  the  Barracks,  which  is  an  extremely  well 
contriv'd  Building  in  Form  of  a  Square,  of  Tappy  work, 
in  which,  at  present,  are  kept  the  Hospital,  and  Spanish 
Prisoners  of  War :  Near  this  was  situated  the  Bomb  Maga- 
zine which  was  blown  up  on  March  22,  1744,*  with  so 
surprizingly  little  Damage. f 

"The  town  is  situated  in  a  large  Indian  Field.  To 
the  East  it  has  a  very  extensive  Savannah  (wherein  is 
the  Burial  Place)  thro'  which  is  cut  a  Road  to  the 
other  Side  of  the  Island,  which  is  bounded  by  Woods, 
save  here  and  there  some  opening  Glades  into  the 
Neighboring  Savannah's  and  Marshes,  which  much  elu- 
cidate the  Pleasure  of  looking.  Down  this  Road  are 
several  very  commodious  Plantations,  particularly  the 
very  agreeable  one  of  Capt.  Demery,  and  that  of  Mr. 
Hawkins.  Pre-eminently  appears  Mr.  Oglethorpe  s  Settle- 
ment, which,  at  Distance,  looks  like  a  neat  Country 
Tillage,  where  the  consequences  of  all  the  various  In- 
dustries of  an  European  Farm  are  seen.  The  Master 
of  it  has  shewn  what  Application  and  unbated  Dili- 
gence may  effect  in  this  Country.  At  the  Extremity 
of  the  Road  is  a  small  Village,  call'd  the  German  Vil- 
lage, inhabited  by  several  Families  of  Saltzhurghers,  who 
plant   and   fish   for  th^ir  Subsistence.     On  the   River  Side 

*  See  Lond.  Mag:  1744.  p,  359. 

1 1  have  been  told  that  in  this  Exjilosion  near  3,000  Bombs  burst,  which,  had  thej-  not 
been  well  bedded,  would  have  done  much  Mischief. 


FREDEKICA.  123 

^  one  has  the  Prospect  of  a  large  Circuit  of  Marshes, 
^  terminated  by  the  Woods  on  the  Continent,  in  Form 
Hke  an  Amphitheatre,  and  interspers'd  with  the  Mean- 
ders of  abundance  of  Creeks,  form'd  from  the  aforesaid 
Biver.  At  a  Distance  may  be  seen  the  white  Post  at 
Bachelor  s   Redoubt,   also   on   the    3faui,  where   is    kept    a 

J  good  Look-out  of  Rangers.  To  the  North  are  Marshes, 
and  a  small  Wood,  at  the  Western  Extremity  of  which 
are  the  Plantations  of  the  late  Capt.  Deshrisayj  and 
some    others    of    less    note;    together    with     a     Look-out 

I  wherein  a  Corporal's  Guard  is  stationed,  and  reliev'd 
weekly,  called  Pikes,  on  the  Bank  of  the  River,  fi-om 
whence  they  can  see  Vessels  a  great  way  to  the  North- 
ward. On  the  South  is  a  Wood,  which  is,  however,  so 
far  clear'd  as  to  discover  the  Approach  of  an  Enemy 
at  a  great  Distance  ;  within  it,  to  the  Eastward,  is  the 
Plantation  of  Capt.  Dunbar ;  and  to  the  Westward  a 
Corporal's  Look-out.  The  Town  is  divided  into  several 
spacious  Streets,  along  whose  sides  are  planted  Orange 
Trees,^  which,  in  some  Time,  will  have  a  very  pretty 
Effect  on  the  View,  and  will  render  the  Town  pleasingly 
shady.  Some  Houses  are  built  entirely  of  Brick,  some 
of  Brick  and  Wood,  some  few  of  Tappy-Work,  but  most 
B  of  the  meaner  sort,  of  Wood  only.  The  Camp  is  also 
divided  into  several  Streets,  distinguished  by  the  names 
of  the  Captains  of  the  several  Companies  of  the  Regi- 
ment ;  and  the  Huts  are  built  generally  of  Clap-boards 
and  Palmetto's,  and  are  each  of  them  capable  to  con- 
tain   a    Family,    or    Half  a    Dozen    Single    men.      Here 

*  The  luhabitauts  begin  to  plant  this  charming  Frnit  very  much,  and  'tis  to  be  hop'd 
will  banish  their  numerous  Peach  Trees  to  their  Country  Settlements,  which  are  Nurseries 
of  Mmkdtos  and  other  Vermin.  The  Season  I  was  there,  they  had  Oranges  enough  of  their 
own  Growth  for  Home  Consumption. 


124  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

these  brave  Fellows  live  with  the  most  laudable  (Econ- 
omy ;  and  tho'  most  of  them  when  off  Duty,  practise  some 
Trade  or  Employment,  they  make  as  fine  an  Appearance 
upon  the  Parade,  as  any  Regiment  in  the  King's  Service  • 
and  their  exact  Discipline  does  a  great  deal  of  Honour 
to  their  Officers ;  They  have  a  Market  every  Day ;  The 
Inhabitants  of  the  Town  may  be  divided  into  Officers, 
Merchants,  Store-Keepers,  Artisans,  and  People  in  the 
Provincial  Service ;  and  there  are  often,  also,  many  So- 
journers from  the  neighbouring  Settlements,  and  from  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  Carolina,  on  account  of  Trade. 
The  Civil  Government  does  not  seem  yet  to  be  quite  rightly 
settled  by  the  Trustees,  but  is,  at  present,  administered  by 
three  Magistrates,  or  Justices,  assisted  by  a  Recorder,  Con- 
stables, and  Tything  Men.  The  Military  is  regulated  as 
in  all  Garrison-Towns  in  the  British  Dominions.  In  short, 
the  whole  Town,  and  Country  adjacent,  are  quite  rurally 
charming,  and  the  Improvements  everywhere  around  are 
Footsteps  of  the  greatest  Skill  and  Industry  imaginable, 
considering  its  late  Settlement,  and  the  Rubs  it  has  so  often 
met  with ;  and  as  it  seems  so  necessary  for  the  Barrier 
of  our  Colonies,  I  am  in  Hopes  of,  one  Time,  seeing  it 
taken  more  Notice  of  than  it  is  at  present."^ 

For  the  ensuing  few  years,  and  during  the  retention  of 
Oglethorpe's  regiment  on  St.  Simons  island,  but  little 
change  occurred  in  the  condition  of  Frederica.  It  retained 
its  importance  as  a  military  post,  and  was  regarded  as 
the  safe  guard  of  the  Province  against  Spanish  invasion. 
The  expectations,  if  indeed  any  were  seriously  entertained, 

*  This  was  written  in  the  beginning  of  1743, 
See  London  Magazine  for  1745,  vol.  xiv,  pp.  395,  396. 

Compare  notice  in  "  The  North-American  and  the  West-Indian  Gazetteer."  London, 
1778. 


FREDERICA.  125 

of  elevating  this  towu  into  commercial  importance,  were 
practically  abandoned  previous  to  the  withdrawal  of  the 
troops.  In  fact,  even  before  the  existing  difficulties  with 
Spain  were  formally  accommodated  by  treaty,  and  it 
became  manifest  that  there  would  in  all  likelihood  occur 
no  farther  serious  demonstrations  along  the  southern 
frontier,  the  population  of  Frederica  began  to  decrease. 

The  home  authorities,  however,  were  loth  to  acknowl- 
edge its  manifest  tendency  to  decadence,  and  for  some 
time,  by  occasional  reports  and  notices,  endeavored  to 
assure  the  public  of  the  continued  prosperity  of  a  town 
which  had  attracted  such  special  attention  in  connection 
with  the  progress  and  perils  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia. 

An  article  having  appeared  in  the  "Daily  Gazetteer" 
giving  "a  most  scandalous  and  untrue  account  of  the 
present  state  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  particularly  levelled 
at  the  Southern  Part  thereof  (which  is  the  Frontier  against 
the  French  and  Spaniards)"  in  justice  to  the  public,  William 
Thomson  and  John  Lawrence,  Jr.,  who  had  been  trading 
with  the  Colony  for  some  years  and  who  had  left  Georgia 
in  June,  1747,  on  business  calling  them  to  England,  united  in 
a  card  to  the  editor  of  the  London  Magazine*  in  which 
they  stated :  "  That  instead  of  the  false  Representation 
in  the  said  Gazetteer  '  That  only  seven  Houses  were  in  the 
Town  of  Frederica,'  the  said  Town  has  several  Streets,  in 
every  one  of  which  are  many  good  Houses,  some  of  Brick, 
some  of  Tappy  (which  is  a  Cement  of  Lime  and  Oyster 
Shells ;)  That  the  High  Street  is  planted  with  Orange 
Trees  and  has  good  Houses  on  both  sides.  That  the  Fort, 
besides  other  Buildings  has  two  large  Magazines,  three 
Stories  high,  and  sixty  Feet  long ;     That   there   are   Bar- 

*  Volume  XVI,  p.  484. 


126  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

racks  in  the  Town,  on  tlie  North  side,  ninety  Feet  Square, 
built  of  Tappy,  covered  with  Cypress  Shingles,  and  a  hand- 
some Tower  over  the  Gateway  of  twenty  Feet  square ; 
That  there  are  two  Bastion  Towers,  of  two  stories  each, 
in  the  Hollow  of  the  Bastions,  defended  on  the  Outside 
with  thick  Earth-works,  and  capable  of  lodging  great  Num- 
bers of  Soldiers,  the  two  long  Sides  being  nearly  fifty  Feet, 
and  the  short  Sides  twenty-five ;  And  that  instead  of  the 
Inhabitants  removing  from  thence,  several  Families  were 
come  and  more  coming  from  North  Carolina  to  settle  in 
Georgia,  who  will  certainly  establish  themselves  there  unless 
they  are  prevented  by  any  Fears  which  may  arise  from 
the  Seduction  of  the  Rangers  and  Vessels  which  have 
hitherto  made  that  Frontier  safe  :  That  before  the  Bar- 
racks were  finished,  very  good  Clap-board  Huts  were  built 
sufl&cient  for  the  lodging  of  two  Companies  who  do  Duty 
at  Frederica  (with  their  Wives  and  Families)  which  by  an 
Accident  of  Fire  were  lately  burnt  down  ;  since  which  others 
have  been  made  for  married  Soldiers ;  and  the  Soldiers 
have  the  Privilege  of  cutting  Timber  and  building  Houses 
for  their  Families,  which  many  have  done,  and  thrive  very 
well,  and  we  know  the  Soldiers  are  regularly  paid  and 
kindly  treated.  We  also  certify  that  there  are  several 
Farms  which  produce  not  only  Indian  Wheat  and  Potatoes, 
but  English  Wheat,  Barley,  and  other  Grain.  In  short. 
Provisions  in  general  are  plentiful,  Yenison,  Beef,  Pork,  at 
Two  Pence  Half-Penny  per  Pound,  and  sometimes  under. 
Fish  extremely  cheap." 

Upon  the  confirmation  of  the  Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle 
in  April,  1748,  most  of  the  troops  were  withdrawn  from 
St.  Simons  island  and  the  fortifications  soon  began  to 
fall  into  decav. 


_  FREDERICA.  127 

k    - 

^K  The  Trustees  having  surrendered  their  charter,  Captain 
^Pjohn  Reynolds  was,  in  1754,  appointed  by  the  King, 
B  Governor  of  Georgia,  with  the  title  of  "Captain  General 
f  and  Commander  in  Chief  of  His  Majesty's  Province  of 
Georgia,  and  Vice-Admiral  of  the  same."  He  entered 
upon  his  duties  in  October  of  that  year,  and  early,  the 
following  Spring,  made  a  tour  of  inspection  through  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Province.  Arriving  at  Frederica, 
he  found  the  town  "in  ruins,"  the  fortifications  "decayed," 
and  the  "houses  falling  down."  Twenty  pieces  of  can- 
non were  lying  dismounted  aud  "spoiled  for  want  of  care." 
The  melancholy  prospect  was  presented  of  "  houses  without 
inhabitants,  barracks  without  soldiers,  gims  without  car- 
riages, and  streets  grown  over  with  weeds."*  Fort  Frederick 
was  entirely  dismantled.  Not  a  gun  was  mounted,  and 
neither  powder. nor  ball  could  be  found.  Among  his  re- 
commendations for  the  defense  of  the  Colony,  the  Gov- 
ernor suggested  the  construction  of  a  work  at  Frederica 
■I  "in  the  form  of  half  a  hexagon,  nine  hundred  and*  sixty 
feet  each,  with  two  whole  and  two  demi-bastions  towards 
the  land,  and  two  demi-bastions  and  a  citadel  towards 
the  sea,  on  which  were  to  be  placed  fifty  cannon  manned 
by  three  hundred  regulars."  This  fortification  was  never 
built,  and  no  effort  was  made  to  repair  the  works  then 
crumbHng  and  abandoned. 

This  dilapidation  and  neglect  continued  without  any 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  Colonial  authorities  to  check  their 
annihilating  influences.  Frederica  had  now  ceased  to  be 
a  place  of  any  note.  In  his  report  of  the  condition  of  the 
Province  of  Georgia,  submitted  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  on 


*  A  destructive  fire  had  consumed  nearly  all  the  houses  which  time  had  spared. 
See  Stevens'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  p.  446.     New  York,  1847. 


1^8  THE  DEA.D  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

I 

the  20th  of  December,  1773,  Sh-  James  Wright,  then  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Colony,  represents  Fort  Frederick  at  Frederica 
as  "going  to  decay  very  fast."  "  There  is  still," — such  is  the 
language  of  the  report, — "some  Remains  of  good  Tabby 
"Walls,  &c.,  but  there  has  been  no  men  there  since  the 
Independent  Company  were  broke  in  the  Year  1767."* 

In  March,  1774,  William  Bartram  visited  Frederica  and 
St.  Simons  island  and  was  most  hospitably  entertained 
by  Mr.  James  Spalding  who  was  there  engaged  in  an  ex- 
tensive trade  with  the  Indian  tribes  of  East  Florida.  Fol- 
lowing the  old  highway  across  the  savannah,  he  devoted 
a  day  to  exploring  the  island  and  was  charmed  with  the 
magnificent  forests  of  pines  and  oaks  perfumed  with  the 
fragrant  breath  of  the  white  lily  and  the  sweet  bay.  The 
venerable  live-oaks  still  overshadowed  the  spacious  avenue 
leading  to  the  former  seat  of  General  Oglethorpe,  but  that 
distinguished  gentleman  was  no  longer  there,  and  his  quiet 
cottage  had  passed  into  the  ownership  of  another.  The 
dehghts  of  the  woods  and  waters,  the  delicious  breezes 
wafted  from  groves  filled  with  birds  of  bright  plumage 
and  sweet  voices,  the  commingled  perfumes  of  the  yellow 
jasmine,  the  lonicera,  the  audromeda  and  the  azalea,  and 
the  solemn  sound  of  the  incoming  surf  were,  in  the  re- 
collection of  this  happy  traveller,  associated  with  generous 
hospitality,  a  plentiful  repast  of  venison,  and  an  agreeable 
"  drink  of  honey  and  water  strengthened  by  the  addition 
of  brandy." 

Although  nature  was  as  balmy,  as  attractive,  and  as 
beautiful  as  ever,  Bartram  was  oppressed  by  the  indica- 
tions of  desolation  which  confronted  him  aU  over  the  island. 
He  speaks  of  "  vestiges  of  plantations,  ruins  of  costly  build- 

«  *  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  ui,  pp.  168,  169.    Savannah,  1873. 


FEEDERICA.  1^9 

ings,  and  highways  overgrown  with  forests."  The  fort  he 
found  entirely  dilapidated,  and  nothing  of  the  town  remain- 
ing except  ruilis.  From  the  crumbling  walls  of  the  deserted 
houses  peach  trees,  figs,  and  pomegranates  were  growing.* 
And  so  this  brave  town   dwindled  away  into  nothingness. 

The  last  detachment  of  troops  stationed  there  consisted  of 
ten  Koyal  Americans ;  but  even  these  were  withdrawn 
during  the  early  part  of  the  administration  of  Governor 
Wright. 

The  rui^ture  between  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies 
being  imminent,  the  Council  of  Safety  ordered  all  guns 
at  Frederica  to  be  secured,  and  they  were  used  in  for- 
tifying other  points  on  the  coast  deemed  of  greater  im- 
portance. During  the  progress  of  the  expedition  pro- 
jected from  Sunbury,  by  Governor  Gwinnett,  against 
Florida,  Colonel  Elbert,  who  was  in  command,  on  Sun- 
day, the  11th  of  May,  1777,  landed  at  Frederica  "to  air" 
his  troops.  The  following  entry  occurs  in  his  Order- 
Book  :  "Frederica  was  once  a  pretty  little  Town,  as  ap- 
pears by  the  Kuins,  having  been  burned  down  some  years 
since ;  the  Fort  at  this  place,  with  a  little  expence,  might 
be  made  defensible,  and  might,  if  properly  garrisoned, 
be  a  means  of  protecting  gi-eat  part  of  our  Southern  Fron- 
tiers. There  are  about  twelve  men  that  bear  arms  here; 
in  my  opinion  all  Tories.  Their  Captain,  Ditter,  says 
otherwise  of  himself,  and  informed  me  that  about  6  or  8 
of  the  inhabitants  had  lately  gone  to  Florida  for  protec- 
tion."t 

By  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  the  15th  of  March, 
1758,J   dividing    the    Province    into   eight   Parishes,    "  the 

♦Travels  through  North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  &c.,  pp.  55-60,    London,  1792. 
t  MS.  Order-Book  of  Col.  8.  Elbert. 
t  Marbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  p.  151. 
17 


130  THE   DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

town  and  district  of  Frederica,  including  the  islands  of 
Great  and  Little  St.  Simons  and  the  adjacent  islands," 
were  declared  a  parish  and  named  "  St.  James."  Un- 
der the  writs  of  election  issued  by  Sir  '  James  Wright, 
Lachlan  Mcintosh  was  returned  as  member  for  Frederica. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  1777,  some  boats  from  a  Brit- 
ish armed  vessel  lying  in  St.  Andrews  Sound  landed 
on  St.  Simons  island,  and  their  crews  captured  and  car- 
ried away  Captain  Arthur  Carney,  five  citizens,  several 
negroes,  and  as  much  household  furniture  as  could  be 
conveyed  in  the  barges.  Carney  had  been  appointed  to 
the  captaincy  of  the  fourth  company  in  the  first  Conti- 
nental Battalion  of  Georgia  troops.  After  his  capture,  he 
espoused  the  Koyal  cause  and  proved  himself  not  only 
an    active   Tory   but   a   great   cattle   thief.* 

While  General  Robert  Howe  was .  concentrating  his 
forces  on  the  Southern  frontier  of  Georgia  with  a  view 
to  the  invasion  of  Florida,  Colonel  Elbert,  who  was  com- 
manding at  Fort  Howe, — the  place  of  rendezvous, — 
achieved  an  exploit  which  imparts  another  distinct  and 
gallant  memory  to  the  neglected  settlements,  "  Where 
wild   Altama   murmurs   to   their   woe." 

The  details  of  the  affair  are  thus  narrated  in  a  let- 
ter  to   General  Howe : 

"  Frederica,  April  19th,  1778. 
"  Dear    General : 

"I  have  the  happiness  to  inform  you  that  about  10 
o'clock  this  forenoon,  the  brigantine  Hinchinbrooke,  the 
sloop  Bebecca,  and  a  prize  brig,  all  struck  the  British 
tyrant's  colors  and  surrendered  to  the  American  arms. 

"  Having  received   intelligence    that    the    above    vessels 

*  See  McCall'8  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  131,  132.    Savannah,  1811. 


FREDERICA.  131 

were  at  this  place,  I  put  about  three  hundred  men,  by- 
detachment  from  the  troops  under  my  command  at  Fort 
Howe,  on  board  the  three  galleys,  the  Washington — 
Captain  Hardy, — the  Lee, — Captain  Braddock, — and  the 
Bulloch, — Captain  Hutcher; — and  a  detachment  of  artil- 
lery with  two  field  pieces,  under  Captain  Young,  I  put 
on  board  a  boat.  With  this  little  army  we  embarked 
at  Darien,  and  last  evening  effected  a  landing  at  a  bluff 
about  a  mile  below  the  town,  leaving  Colonel  White  on 
board  the  Lee,  Captain  Melvin  on  board  the  Washing- 
ton, and  Lieutenant  Petty  on  board  the  Bulloch,  each 
with  a  sufficient  party  of  troops.  Immediately  on  land- 
ing I  dispatched  Lieutenant-Colonel  Kay  and  Major  Rob- 
erts, with  about  one  hundred  men,  who  marched  directly 
up  to  the  town  and  made  prisoners  three  marines  and  two 
sailors  belonging   to   the   Hinchinbrooke. 

"It  being  late,  the  galleys  did  not  engage  until  this 
morning.  You  must  imagine  what  my  feelings  were  to 
see  our  three  little  men-of-war  going  on  to  the  attack  of 
these  three  vessels,  who  have  spread  ten-or  an  our  coast, 
and  who  were  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle ;  but  the 
weight  of  our  metal  soon  damped  the  courage  of  these 
heroes,  who  soon  took  to  their  boats  ;  and  as  many  as 
could,  abandoned  the  vessel  with  everything  on  board, 
of  which  we  immediately  took  possession.  What  is  ex- 
traordinary, we  have  not  one  man  hurt.  Captain  Ellis, 
of  the  Hinchinbrooke,  is  drowned,  and  Captain  Mow- 
bray, of  the  Rebecca,  made  his  escape.  As  soon  as  I 
see  Colonel  White,  who  has  not  yet  come  to  us  with  his 
prizes,  I  shall  consult  with  him,  the  three  other  ofl&cers, 
and  the  comanding  officers  of  the  galleys,  on  the  expe- 
diency of  attacking  the   Galatea  now  lying  at  Jekyll." 


132  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

While  Colonel  Elbert  was  preparing  to  attack  her,  the 
Galatea  made  her  escape  to  sea.*  This  successful  enter- 
prize  encouraged  the  troops  at  Fort  Howe,  who  were  in 
a  very  dispirited  mood. 

Upon  his  retreat,  by  water,  from  Sunbury  in  Decem- 
ber, 1778,  Fuser  left  the  regular  troops  of  his  expedition 
at  Frederica,  with  instructions  to  repair  the  old  ♦military 
works  at  that  point.  These  orders  were  only  partially  ob- 
served, and  the  force  was  soon  withdrawn. 

During  the  continuance  of  the  Revolutionary  war  St. 
Simons  island,  in  common  with  other  isolated  localities 
along  the  Georgia  coast,  suffered  from  privateers  and 
armed  parties  who  pillaged  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants 
and  led  captive  negroes  and  domestic  animals.  Similar 
annoyances  and  losses  were  encountered  during  the  war 
of  1812-1815.  So  ruthless  had  been  the  spoliations  and 
devastations  by  the  British  troops  during  the  progress  of 
the  Revolution,  that  upon  its  termination  but  little  re- 
mained of  Frederica  save  the  sites  of  burnt  houses  and 
heaps  of  ruin.  The  town  had  almost  entirely  disappeared. 
Subsequent  attempts  to  revive  it  were  feeble  and  unsuc- 
cessful. Of  the  State  legislation  with  regard  to  Frederica, 
the  following  synopsis  may  not  be  deemed  inappropriate  : 

On  the  17th  of  December,  1792,  James  Spalding,  John 
Braddock,  Raymond  Demere,  John  Palmer,  John  Bur- 
nett, John  Piles,  Moses  Burnett,  •  Samuel  Wright,  and 
William  Williams  were  appointed  Commissioners  of  the 
towns  and  commons  of  Frederica  and  Brunswick.  They 
were   directed,   after    three    months'    published    notice,    to 


*8ee  McCall's  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  ii,  pp.  137-139.    Savannah,  1811. 

Stevens'  ffistory  of  Georgia,  vol.  ii,  pp.  161-162.     Philadelphia,  1859. 
White's  Historical  Collections  of  Georgia,  p.  468.    New  York,  1855. 


FREDERICA.  133 

cause  surveys  to  be  made  of  those  towns,  according  to 
their  original  plans,  and  to  have  the  same  recorded  in 
the  Surveyor  General's  office,  and  in  the  *  office  of  the 
Surveyor  of  Glynn  county.  Any  vacant  lots,  except  such 
as  were  originally  reserved  for  public  uses,  were  then  to 
be  sold  upon  four  weeks'  public  notice ;  and  the  proceeds 
arising  from  such  sales,  after  deducting  the  necessary 
expense  of  survey,  devoted  to  the  building  and  support 
of  an   Academy   in  Glynn   County.* 

In  February,  1796,  special  Commissioners  were  named 
for  the  town  of  Frederica.  They  were  John  Cooper,  Wil- 
liam Mcintosh,  Janies  Harrison,  James  Moore,  and  Wil- 
liam Clubbs.  It  was  made  their  duty  to  lay  off  the 
town,  as  nearly  as  practicable,  according  to  its  original 
plan,  cause  the  streets  to  be  opened,  the  lots  to  be 
plainly  marked  or  staked  off,  the  commons  to  be  re- 
surveyed,  and  an  accurate  map  prepared  and  recorded 
in  the  Surveyor  General's  office  within  two  months 
after  the  passage  of  the  act.  The  survey  of  the  town 
having  been  completed,  the  Commissioners  were  required, 
by  notice  in  one  of  the  public  gazettes  of  the  State,  to 
call  upon  the  owners  and  holders  of  lots  to  make  due 
return  thereof  to  the  Commissioners  within  nine  months, 
and  pay  the  sum  of  one  dollar  per  lot  in  defrayal  of  the 
cost  of   the  survey. 

All  lots  not  returned  within  the  prescribed  period  were, 
after  six  weeks  public  advertisement,  to  be  sold  to  the 
highest  bidder, — one  half  of  the  purchase  money  to  be  paid 
in  cash  and  the  remainder  in  twelve  months  thereafter ; — 
the  deferred  payment  being  secured  by  bond  with  mortgage 
on   the  premises  purchased.     The  proceeds  of  such  sales, 

*  Watkins'  Digest,  p.  470. 


134  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

after  defraying  the  expences  incurred  in  laying  off  the 
town  and  commons,  were  to  be  applied  to  the  support  of 
an  academy  or  seminary  of  learning  in  Glynn  County. 

Any  person  attempting  to  run  up  or  appropriate  any 
part  of  the  town  common  was  declared  liable  to  a  fine  of 
five  hundred  dollars,  to  be  recovered  in  the  Superior  Court 
of  Glynn  County  by  the  Commissioners  or  any  inhabitant 
or  lot  owner  in  the  town ; — one  half  the  fine  to  enure  to 
the  benefit  of  the  academy,  and  the  other  half  to  go  to 
the  party  suing  for  the  same. 

All  surveys  previously  made,  and  grants  surreptitiously 
obtained,  were  declared  null  and  void,,  and  any  person  in 
possession  by  virtue  of  such  survey  or  grant  was  liable  to 
the  fine  above  mentioned,  to  be  recovered  in  the  manner 
indicated.* 

In  1801  Frederica  is  mentioned  by  Sibbald  as  "  a  pleas- 
antly situated  town  on  the  island  of  St.  Simons,  latitude 
31°  15'  North,"  but  he  gives  no  statistics  either  of  its  popu- 
lation or  commerce.t 

By  an  act  assented  to  November  26th,  1802,J — the  front 
range  of  lots  in  the  town  of  Frederica  being  "too  distant 
from  the  water  for  the  convenient  storage  or  shipping  of 
produce,  or  the  landing  of  goods  imported  to  that  place," — 
the  Commissioners  were  empowered  "  to  cause  a  range  of 
lots  to  be  laid  off  in  front  of  said  town,  commencing  at 
low  water  mark,  and  running  back  so  far  as  to  leave  a  street 
eighty  feet  between  the  present  front  range  of  lots  and 
those  to  be  laid  off." 

These  new  lots  were  to  be  sold  at  public  outcry  upon 


*  Watkins'  Digest,  pp.  598,  599. 

t  "Notes  and  Observations  on  the  Pine  Lands  of  Georgia,"  &c.    Augusta,  1801. 

%  Clayton's  Digest,  p.  63. 


PREDERICA.  135 

sixty  days'  notice,  and  the  moneys  realized  upon  such  sale, 
after  defraying  the  expences  of  the  survey,  were  to  be 
paid  over  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Academy  of  Glynn 
county  to  be  by  them  expended  for  the  benefit  of  that 
institution. 

Two  correct  plans  of  these  water  lots  were  to  be  prepared 
and  certified  by  the  surveyor,  one  to  be  transmitted  by 
the  Commissioners  to  the  Surveyor  General  for  record  in 
his  office,  and  the  other  to  be  delivered  to  the  County 
Surveyor  of  Glynn  county  to  be  by  him  recorded  in  his 
office. 

On  the  18th  of  November,  1814,*  the  Commissioners  of 
the  towns  of  Brunswick  and  Frederica  were  authorized 
to  levy  a  tax  upon  the  lots  in  those  towns,  whether  im- 
proved or  unimproved,  and  pay  over  the  moneys  thus  raised 
to  the  Justices  of  the  Inferior  Court  of  Glynn  county 
for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  Court  House  and  Jail.  To 
the  same  object  was  to  be  applied  one-fourth  of  the  future 
rents  of  the  town  commons. 

All  efforts  to  revivify  the  dead  town,  to  perpetuate  some- 
thing like  a  corporate  existence,  to  reaHze  a  revenue  by 
special  taxation  of  abandoned  premises,  to  maintain  a 
semblance  of  public  streets,  commons,  and  private  lots, 
to  clothe  water  fronts  with  the  dignity  of  commercial 
wharves,  and  transmit  the  physical  impressions  of  the  older 
days,  proved  utterly  futile.f  Frederica  lost  its  importance 
when  it  ceased  to  be  the  strong-hold  of  the  southern  fron- 
tier. Its  mission  was  accomplished  when  the  Spaniard 
no  longer  threatened.     Its   doom  was  pronounced  in  the 

*  Lamar's  Digest,  pp.  902,  978. 

t  Alluding  to  Frederica,  in  1829,  Sherwoodf  says  :  "  The  Fort  Is  gone  to  decay,  but  there 
are  ten  houses  in  the  village." 
t  Gazetteer  of  Georgia,  p.  111. 


136  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

hour  of  its  triumph.      Upon  the  withdrawal  of  Oglethorpe's 
regiment  its  decadence   began,   and    ceased   not    until    its 
fort  became  a  white  ruin,  its  public  parade  a  pasture  ground, 
and  its  streets  and  gardens  a  cotton  field.* 
Omnia  debentur  morti. 


*  Frances  Anne  Kemble,  who  visited  Frederica  in  the  spring  of  1839,  thus  records  her 
impressions  of  the  deserted  spot :  "  This  Frederica  is  a  very  strange  place  ;  it  was  once  a 
town,— </ie  town,  the  metropolis  of  the  island.  The  English,  when  they  landed  on  the 
coast  of  Georgia  in  the  war,  destroyed  this  tiny  place,  and  it  has  never  been  built  up 
again.  Mrs.  A.'s  and  one  other  house,  are  the  only  dwellings  that  remain  in  this  curious 
wilderness  of  dismantled  crumbling  gray  walls  compassionately  cloaked  with  a  thousand 
profuse  and  graceful  creepers.  These  are  the  only  ruins,  properly  so  called,  except  those 
of  Fort  Putnam,  that  I  have  ever  seen  in  this  land  of  contemptuous  youth.  I  hailed 
these  picturesque  groups  and  masses  with  the  feelings  of  a  European,  to  whom  ruins  are 
like  a  sort  of  relations.  In  my  country,  ruias  are  like  a  minor  chord  in  music:  here  they 
are  like  a  discord  ;  they  are  not  the  relics  of  time,  but  the  results  of  violence  ;  they  re- 
call no  valuable  memories  of  a  remote  past,  and  are  mere  encumbrances  to  the  busy 
present.  Evidently  they  are  out  of  place  in  America  except  on  St.  Simon's  island,  between 
this  savage  selvage  of  civilization  and  the  great  Atlantic  deep.  These  heaps  of  rubbish 
and  roses  would  have  made  the  fortune  of  a  sketcher  ;  but  I  imagine  the  snakes  have  it 
all  to  themselves  here,  and  are  undistixrbed  by  camp-stools,  white  umbrellas,  and  ejacula- 
tory  young  ladies." 

Journal  of  a  Residence  on  a  Georgian  Plantation,  &c.,  p.  285.    New  York,  1863. 


III. 
ABERCORN. 


On  a  creek  or  branch   of   the    Savannah,  distant    some 
three    miles     from    its    confluence    with    that     river,    and 
about  fifteen  miles  above  the  town  of  Savannah,  the  vil- 
lage  of  Abercom   was  located   in  1733.     Its   original   set- 
tlement consisted  of   ten  families.     The  plan  of  the  town 
embraced   twelve   lots,   with   two  trust  lots   in   addition, — 
one   on   either    extremity.     Old    Ebenezer    was    ten   miles 
to   the   west ;  and  four   miles   below    the  mouth   of  Ab^r- 
corn   creek,   was  Joseph's   Town,   where   two   Scotch   gen- 
tlemen had  selected  plantations  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Savannah.     Journeying    towards    Savannah,   in   the    early 
days   of   the   Colony,     the   visitor    would    encounter    suc- 
cessively  Sir  Francis   Bathurst's    plantation,    Walter   Au- 
gustin's    settlement,    Captain     Williams'    plantation,    Mrs. 
Matthews'     place,    the    Indian    School -house     Irene,    the 
Horse  Quarter,   and  the   Indian   lands  reserved  just   out- 
side the  limits  of   Yamacraw.     A  strange   fatality  attend- 
ed all  these  early  attempts  at  colonization.     Born  of  the 
subjugation  of  the  forests,  were  malarial  fevers  and  fluxes 
which   engendered  lassitude  and   death.     Short  lived   were   ' 
these  httle   settlements,  and  it  was   only   upon   the   intro- 
duction  of    slave   labor  that  these    plantations  bordering 
upon   the   Savannah   became    permanent    and    productive. 
The   white   men   who   strove   to   bring   them   into   a    state 
of    cultivation    failed    in    the    effort    and    quickly    passed 
away.     Others,   who  endeavored  to  complete  their  labors, 
encountered  similar  misfortune  and   disappointment. 


18 


138  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

The  ten  families  who  were  assigned  to  Abercorn  in 
1733  were  all  gone  in  1737.  That  year  Mr.  John  Bro- 
die,  with  twelve  servants,  occupied  the  settlement ;  but, 
after  three  years,  he  abandoned  the  place,  leaving  its 
improvements  to  ruin  and  decay.  Most  of  the  thirty  servants 
who  cultivated  the  lands  of  the  Scotch  gentlemen  at 
Joseph's  Town  died,  and  that  plantation  lapsed  into  neglect. 

The  Saltzburgers  who  came  to  Georgia  under  the  conduct 
of  Baron  Yon  Reck  and  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Bolzius,  in  passing 
from  Savannah  to  Old  Ebenezer,  were  sheltered  and  re- 
freshed at  Abercorn.  To  that  place  their  baggage  was 
brought  by  water,  and  for  some  time  all  their  supplies  were 
delivered  at  that  point  whence  they  were  carried,  at  much 
pains,  up  Ebenezer  creek  and  through  the  woods.  Before 
long,  however,  a  road  was  cut  from  Abercorn  to  Old  Ebenezer 
which  facilitated  the  transportation.  While  at  Abercorn  the 
Saltzburgers   suffered   much  from  affections  of  the  bowels. 

Various  efforts  were  made  by  the  Trustees  to  increase 
the  population  and  ensure  the  prosperity  of  Abercorn, — 
which  w^as  regarded  as  a  convenient  point  for  communi- 
cating wdth  the  Carolina  settlements  on  the  Savannah 
river; — but  they  all  eventuated  in  disappointment.  Such 
of  the  colonists  as  were  sent  there  from  time  to  time  grew 
sick  and  tired  of  the  abode,  took  no  interest  in  its  advance- 
ment, and  abandoned  it  upon  the  earliest  opportunity.  The 
little  life  which  this  small  place  enjoyed  was  insignificant 
and  without  moment  in  the  history  of  the  Colony. 

In  December,  1739,  Mr.  Stephens  visited  the  town  in 
company  with  Mr.  Jones,  to  inspect  a  large  ferry-boat 
which,  in  obedience  to  General  Oglethorpe's  orders,  had 
been  there  constructed  by  one  Bunyon, — a  boat-builder  by 
trade,"  and  an  inhabitant  of  the  town.     This  boat  was  ca- 


ABERCORN.  139 

pable  of  transporting  nine  or  ten  horses  at  a  time,  and 
was  intended  to  ply  between  Abercom  and  Palachocolas. 
In  perpetuating  his  impressions  of  the  place  Mr.  Stephens 
says  :  "As  there  was  no  Place  in  the  whole  Province,  of  the 
like  Allotment  of  fifty  acres  each,  which  in  my  eye  seemed 
so  desirable,  being  a  most  pleasant  Situation  on  the  Banks 
of  such  a  River,  with  as  good  Land  belonging  to  each  Lot, 
as  is  readily  to  be  found  in  most  Parts  of  the  Province  ;  I 
never  saw  it  but  with  Regret,  that  there  never  yet  had  been 
a  number  of  Settlers  there  deserving  it ;  but  generally  they 
happened  to  be  loose,  idle  People,  who  after  some  short 
Abode,  wandered  elsewhere  and  left  it :  ^  *  *  and  there 
are  at  present  five  Families  only  remaining  there,  nor  has 
there  often  been  more  at  one  Time.  As  the  Trust-Lands 
seem  to  be  now  in  some  better  way  of  cultivating  by  their 
own  Servants,  than  hitherto  ;  I  proposed  it  to  Mr.  Jov^ 
to  send  down  a  few  German  families  to  work  on  the  Trust- 
Lots  there  ;  which,  by  helping  to  fill  the  Place,  very  prob- 
ably might  induce  others  the  sooner  to  occupy  Lands  there 
also  :  He  agreed  with  me  in  Opinion,  and  said  he  would 
write  of  it  to  the  General."* 

It  is  very  questionable  whether  this  opinion  of  Mr. 
Stephens, — formed  during  the  winter, — of  the  desirableness 
of  this  locality,  would  have  been  confirmed  by  a  residence 
there  amid  the  heats  and  miasmatic  influences  of  the  summer 
and  fall.  Some  Germans  did  settle  in  the  neighborhood 
and  cultivate  the  soil,  but  all  efforts  to  promote  the  pros- 
perity of  the  village  and  elevate  it  into  the  dignity  of  a 
town  utterly  failed.  Like  Joseph's  Town  and  Westbrook, 
Abercorn  is  little  more  than  a  name  in  the  history  of  the 
Colony.     In  the  end  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  two.  English 

*  A  Journal  of  the  Proceedings  in  Cleorgia,  &c.,  vol.  n,  pp.  'ilS,  216.    London,  1742. 


140  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

gentlemen  who  converted  the  village  into  a  plantation 
cultivated  with  slave  labor.  So  it  continued  under  various 
owners  until,  by  the  result  of  the  civil  war,  the  negro  has 
been  liberated,  and  the  fortunes  of  this  region  have  become 
more  unpromising  than  ever  before. 

After  the  capture  of  Savannah  in  December,  1778,  Colonel 
Campbell  advanced  a  strong  force  to  this  place  as  a  con- 
venient base  for  future  operations  against  the  interior  of 
the  State ;  and  hence,  in  1779,  did  a  British  detachment 
move,  crossing  over  to  Purysburg  and  attempting  to  surprise 
General  Moultrie  at  Black-swamp. 

The  town  had  so  entirely  faded  from  the  face  of  the 
earth  that  its  location  is  not  indicated  on  that  admirable 
map  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  published  by  William 
Faden  at  Charing  Cross  in  1780 : — and  the  only  mention 
made  by  White  is  as  follows  :  "  Abercorn,  sixteen  miles  from 
Savannah,  was  a  noted  place  in  the  early  settlement  of  Geor- 
gia.    No  memorial  of  its  former  condition  can  now  be  seen." 

Savannah,  increasing  her  borders,  practically  claims  as 
part  of  herself  the  Indian  lands  opposite  the  northern  end 
of  Hutchinson  island.  Of  the  Horse  Quarter  nothing 
remains.  Joseph's  Town  long  ago  lost  its  identity ;  and 
Abercorn,  New  Ebenezer,  Purisburg,  and  Palachocolas,  have, 
within  the  recollection  of  more  than  one  generation,  been 
known  simply  as  boat-landings  on  the  water-highway  be- 
tween Savannah  and  Augusta.* 

*  For  notices  of  Abercorn,  see — 

"  An  Extract  of  the  Journals  of  Mr.  Commissary  Von  Beck,  &c.,  and  of  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Bolzius,"  pp.  18,  20,  54,  66.  69.    London,  1734. 

"An  Account  Shewing  the  Progress  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  in  America,"  &c.,  p.  35, 
London,  1741. 
Stephens'  "  Journal  of  the  Proceedings  in  Georgia,"  &c.,  vol.  i,  p.  230.    Vol.  n,  pp.  215, 
216.    London,  1742. 

"  An  Extract  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Wesley's  Journal,"  &c.  p.  60.    Bristol,  n.  d. 

"  A  State  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  attested  upon  oath,"  &c..  p.  5.    London,  1742. 

"A  True  and  Historical  Narrative  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,"  &c.,  by  Tailfer,  Ander- 
son, and  Douglas,  p.  108.    Charles-Town,  1741. 


» 


_gEMRMA-^^M  of  S  <iehi._ 

PCCin  oflAe  Stfffi  of  6'an/l;UAtr..  Con/atntng-  d'^SO/'ee/}  in,^rfffefljwm^jyo?lA  Af  <%i//J^.,y' 


IV. 

SUNBURY 


On  the  23rd  of  January,  1734,  Mr.  Oglethorpe,  accom- 
panied by  Captain  Ferguson  and  sixteen  attendants, — 
inchiding  two  Indians, — set  out  from  Savannah  in  an 
open  row-boat,  followed  by  a  yawl  carrying  provisions 
and  ammunition,  upon  an  exploratory  expedition  to  the 
Southern  frontiers  of  Georgia.*  His  course  lay  through 
the  inner  passages,  and  was  pursued  as  far  as  St  Simons 
island.  For  the  protection  of  the  Colony  it  was  then 
determined  to  form  a  military  station  and  settlement 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Alatamaha  ;  and, — as  an  outpost 
and  barrier  against  Spanish  invasion, — to  erect  a  strong 
fort  on  the  high  bluff  on  the  western  side  of  St.  Simons 
island.  These  sites  were  shortly  afterwards  occupied  and 
fortified,  and  were  respectively  named  New  Inverness  and 
Frederica.  It  was  during  this  reconnoissance  that  the 
eyes  of  the  Founder  of  Georgia  first  rested  upon  that 
bold  and  beautiful  bluff  which,  overlooking  the  placid 
waters  of  Midway  river  and  the  intervening  low-lying 
salt  marshes,  descries  in  the  distance  the  green  woods  of 
Bermuda  island,  the  dim  outhne  of  the  southern  point 
of  Ossabaw,  and,  across  the  sound,  the  white  shores  of 
St.  Catherine.  Although  formal  session  had  been  made 
by  the    Lower    Creeks   of   all  lands   along  the    sea-coast 

*  See  Memoir  of  General  James  Oglethorpe  by  Bobert  Wright,  p.  74.    Loudon,  1857. 


142  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

from  the  Savannali  to  the  Alatamaha  river,  extending 
westward  as  high  as  the  tide  flowed,  and  including  all 
islands  except  a  few  which  the  Indians  specially  reserved 
for  the  purposes  of  hunting,  fishing,  and  bathing,  no  En- 
glish settlements  had,  at  that  early  day,  been  formed 
south  of  the  Great  Ogeechee  river.  Fort  Argyle, — gar- 
risoned by  Captain  McPherson  and  his  troop  of  Kan- 
gers,  and  commanding  the  passes  by  which  the  Indians 
during  the  late  wars  were  accustomed  to  invade  Caro- 
lina,— was  then  the  only  military  post  of  any  conse- 
quence in  the  direction  of  the  Spaniards.  From  this 
nameless  bluif  the  Aborigines  had  not  then  removed,  and 
their  canoes  might  be  seen  passing  and  repassing  to  and 
from  Hussoope,  [Ossabaw],  and  Cowleggee,  [St.  Cath- 
arine], islands  and  the  main.  To  the  quiet  woods  and 
waters  of  this  semi-tropical  region  the  English  were 
strangers.  The  Bermuda  grass  which,  at  a  later  period, 
so  completely  covered  Sunbury  blufif,  did  not  then  ap- 
pear, but  magnificent  live  oaks,  in  full  grown  stature  and 
solemn  mien,  crowned  the  high-ground  even  to  the  very 
verge  where  the  tide  kissed  the  shore.  Cedars,  festoon- 
ed with  vines,  over  hung  the  waters.  The  magnolia 
grandiflora, — queen  of  the  forest, — excited  on  every  hand 
the  admiration  of  the  early  visitor.  The  sweet-scented 
myrtle,  the  tall  pine,  the  odoriferous  bay,  and  other  indig- 
enous trees  lent  their  charms  to  a  spot  whose  primal 
beauty  had  encountered  no  change  at  the  hand  of  man. 
The  woods  were  resonant  with  the  songs  of  birds,  whose 
bright  plumage  vied  in  coloring  with  the  native  flowers 
which  gladdened  the  eye  and  gave  gentle  odors  to  the 
ambient  air.  Fishes  abounded  in  the  waters,  and  game 
on  the  land.     Cool  sea-breezes  tempered  the  heat  of  sum- 


SUNBURt.  143 

mer,  and  the  rigor  of  cold  was  unknown  in  the  depth  of 
winter.  It  was  a  gentle,  attractive  place, — this  bold  bluff, — 
as  it  came  from  the  hand  of  Nature.  Some  scene  like 
this   did   the   Poet  Waller   have   in   view  as   he  sang : 

"  Heav'n  sure  has  kept  this  spot  of  earth  uncurst, 
To  show  how  all  things  were  created  first." 

By  a  certain  gi-ant  under  the  great  seal  of  the  Province 
of  Georgia,  bearing  date  the  4th  of  October,  1757,  his 
Majesty  George  II  conveyed  to  Mark  Carr,  his  heirs  and 
assigns  forever,  in  free  and  common  socage,  "  All  that 
tract  of  land  containing  five  hundred  acres,  situate  and 
])eing  in  the  District  of  Midway  in  the  Province  of  Geor- 
gia, bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Midway  river,  on  the 
west  by  land  of  Thomas  Carr,  on  the  south  by  vacant 
land,  and  on  all  other  sides  by  marshes  of  the  said  river." 

The  gi-antee  of  these  lands,  which  embraced  the  site  of 
the  future  town  of  Sunbury,  had  been  for  some  twenty 
years  a  man  of  means  and  of  mark  in  the  Colony  of  Geor- 
gia. In  1741  he  had  been  sent  by  General  Oglethorpe 
to  Virginia  to  raise  recruits  for  the  Colony.*  In  his  last 
will  and  testament,  dated  June  8th,  1767,  and  proven  be- 
fore his  Excellency  Sir  James  Wright  on  the  the  4th  of 
December  of  the  same  year.  Captain  Carr  describes  him- 
self as  being  "  of  the  Parish  of  St.  Patrick  in  the  Province 
of  Georgia,  Esquire."  He  owned  lots  in  the  town  of 
Frederica,  an  island  on  the  north  side  of  Midway  river,  a 
tract  of  land  on  the  main  fronting  that  island,  which  he 
had  purchased  from  John  Cubbage,  and  "a  plantation  on 
the  main  over  against  Jekyll  island."  This  was  his  fa- 
vorite residence.  Here,  on  the  18th  of  March,  1741, — 
despite  the  presence  of  a  guard  of  soldiers  there  stationed 

f  — 

♦Memoir  of  General  James  Oglethorpe,  by  Robert  Wright,  pp.  284,  285.    London,  1867. 


144  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

by  General  Oglethorj^e, — the  Indians  made  an  attack  very 
early  in  the  morning,  killing  several  of  the  soldiers  and 
servants,  wounding  others,  "locking  down  the  women  and 
children  in  the  cellar,"  pillaging  the  house,  and  carrying 
away  the  booty  in  a  large  boat  belonging  to  the  plantation.^ 

The  grant  of  this  five  hundred  acre  tract  on  Midway 
river  to  Mark  Carr  in  fee  simple,  was  made  under  the 
operation  of  the  rules  adopted  by  the  Common  Council 
in  May,  1750,  which  essentially  enlarged  the  tenures  of 
grants  already  existing,  and  provided  that  future  alienations 
should  convey  "an  absolute  inheritance  to  the  grantees, 
their  heirs  and  assigns."  It  will  be  remembered  that  under 
the  regulations  at  first  prescribed  by  the  Trustees,  five 
hundred  acre  tracts  were  conveyed  only  to  persons  well 
approved  by  the  Trust ; — parties  who  should  at  their  own 
expense,  and  within  twelve  months  from  the  date  of  the 
grant,  bring  ten  able-bodied  men  servants  not  younger 
than  twenty  years  of  age,  and  settle  upon  the  lands. 

Former  alienations  of  this  magnitude  had  been  coupled 
with  other  conditions,  among  which  the  following  may  be 
enumerated  as  the  most  important : 

I.  The  grantee  obligated  himself  to  abide  in  Georgia 
with  his  servants  for  a  term  of  not  less  than  three  years, 
building  houses  and  cultivating  the  lands. 

II.  Within  ten  years  from  the  registry  of  the  grant,  at 
least  two  hundred  of  the  five  hundred  acres  were  to  be 
cleared  and  cultivated. 

III.  No  alienation  of  the  lands  thus  granted,  either  in 
whole  or  in  part,  for  a  term  of  years  or  otherwise,  was 
permitted  except  by  special  leave. 


*See  A  Journal  of  the  Proceedings  in  Georgia,  &c.,  by  William  Stephens,  pp.  160,  1(51. 
London,  mdccxlii. 


sunburY.  145 

IV.  After  the  lapse  of  eighteen  years  from  the  date  of 
the  grant,  should  any  part  of  the  five  hundred  acres  re- 
main uncultivated,  unplanted,  uncleared,  and  without  a 
worm-fence,  or  pales  six  feet  high,  such  portion  should 
revert  to  the  Trust,  and  the  grant,  pro  tanto,  was  to  be- 
come  void. 

V.  These  grants  were  in  Tail  Male.* 

On  the  20tli  of  June,  1758,  Mark  Carr  conveyed  three 
hundred  acres  of  this  five  hundred  acre  tract,  including 
that  portion  bordering  upon  Midway  river,  to  "James  Max- 
well, Kenneth  BaiUie,  John  Elliott,  Grey  Elliott,  and  John 
Stevens,  of  Midway,  Esquires,"  *  *  *  in  trust  that  the 
same  should  be  laid  out  as  a  town  by  the  name  of  Sun- 
bury ; — one  hundred  acres  thereof  being  dedicated  as  a 
common,  for  the  use  of  the  future  inhabitants ; — and  in 
further  trust  "that  they,  the  said  James  Maxwell,  Ken- 
neth Baillie,  John  EUiott,  Grey  Elliott,  and  John  Stevens 
and  their  successors,  should  sell  and  dispose  of  all  and 
singular  the  lots  to  be  laid  out  in  the  said  town  of  Sunbury 
to  and  for  the  proper  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  Mark 
Carr." 

Captain  McCallt  suggests  that  "  the  town  was  called  Sun- 
bury, — the  etymology  of  which  is  probably  the  residence  of 
the  Sim, — from  the  entire  exposure  of  this  place  to  his 
beams  while  he  is  above  the  horizon."  We  believe  that 
this  projected  village  was  named  for  Sunbury,  a  quiet  and 
beautiful  town  in  Middlesex  County,  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Thames,  only  a  little  way  above  Hampton  Court,  and 
distant  some  eighteen  miles  by  land  from  London ; — it 
being  a  pleasant  custom  among  the  colonists  to  perpetuate 

*8ee  An  Account  Shewing  the  Progress  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America,  &c.  pp. 
48,  4y.    London.  1741. 

t  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  p.  255.    Savannah,  1811. 
19 


146  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEOEGIA. 

in  their  new  homes  the  memories  of  persons  and  places 
dear  to   them   in   the   mother   country. 

In  ancient  records,  says  Lysons,  this  place  (Sunbury  in 
England)  is  called  Sunn^hyri,  Sunneberie,  Suneberie,  <^c. 
Sunnabyri  is  composed  of  two  Saxon  words, — sunna,  the 
sun,  and  hyr%  a  town, — and  may  be  supposed  to  denote 
a  place  exposed  to  the  sun,  or  with  a  southern  aspect. 

A  name  better  suited  to  this  locality  could  scarcely  have 
been  suggested.  It  recalls  the  peaceful  memories  of  one 
of  the  gentle  towns  of  old  England,  and  typifies  the  genial 
influences  of  the  "King  of  Day"  as,  from  early  dawn  until 
sunset,  he  irradiates  with  floods  of  Ught  the  bold  blufl"  "on 
the  wester  most  bank  of  the  river  Midway." 

Two  of  the  Trustees. — John  Stevens  and  John  Elliott, — 
were  prominent  members  of  the  Midway  Congregation. 
James  Maxwell  had  been  for  several  years  a  resident  of 
St.  John's  Parish.  He  and  John  Stevens  were  members 
of  the  Provincial  Congress  which  assembled  at  Tondee's 
Long-room  in  Savannah  on  the  4th  of  July,  1775.* 

Kenneth  Baillie  and  Grey  Elliott  were  active  and  in- 
fluential citizens.  The  latter  was  subsequently  selected 
by  the  General  Assembly  to  act  as  an  assistant  from  the 
Colony  of  Georgia  to  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin  who  had  been 
chosen  by  several  of  the  Provinces, — Georgia  among  the 
number, — and  sent  on  a  special  mission  to  England  to 
represent  the  wants  and  grievances  of  the  Colonies,  re- 
monstrate against  such  acts  of  the  Crown  as  were  deemed 
oppressive,  and  oppose   taxation    without    representation.  J 

*The  following  members  of  that  Congress  came  from  the  Parish  of  St.  John:  James 
Screven,  Nathan  Brownson,  Daniel  Roberts,  John  Baker,  Sr.,  John  Bacon,  Sr.,  James  Max- 
well, Edward  Ball,  William  Baker,  Sr.,  William  Bacon,  Jr.,  John  Stevens,  and  John 
Winn,  Sr.t 

t  Stevens'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  n,  p.  106. 

%  See  McCall's  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  n,  p.  7.     Savannah,  1816. 


I 


SUNBURY.  147 

All  the  Trustees,  therefore,  were  men  of  position  and 
character,  commanding  the  respect  of  the  community. 
Their  selection  for  the  trust  indicated  sound  judgment  and 
well-placed  confidence  on  the  part  of  Mark  Carr. 

The  road  from  Savannah  to  New  Inverness  in  the 
Darien  settlement  which,  in  1736,  in  obedience  to  Mr. 
Oglethorpe's  orders,  was  located  by  Captain  Hugh  Mac- 
Kay,  Jr.,  with  his  company  of  Rangers,  and  Indian  guides 
furnished  by  Tomo-chi-chi,  had  been  completed.  Various 
settlements  on  the  Savannah,  Vernon,  and  Great  Ogee- 
chee  rivers,  and  also  on  St.  Simons  island  and  the  Ala- 
tamaha  river  having  been  confirmed,  between  1740  and 
1750  planters  with  their  families  and  servants  began  to 
move  in  and  occupy  desirable  localities  intermediate  the 
Great  Ogeechee  and  Alatamaha  rivers.  The  sites,  at 
first  selected,  lay  along  the  line  of  the  Savannah  and 
New  Inverness  road,  and  upon  high-grounds  adjacent 
thereto  bordering  upon  salt-water  streams  and  swamps 
emptying  into  them.  Between  the  Great  Ogeechee  and 
South-New  Port  rivers  was  formed  the  Midway  settlement. 

This  district  derived  its  name  from  its  location,  which 
was  about  midway  between  the  rivers  Savannah  and  Ala- 
tamaha then  constituting  the  northern  and  southern 
boundaries  of  the  colony.  It  has  been  suggested,  and 
the  belief  is  current  with  some,  that  the  true  spelling  is 
Medway,  and  that  both  the  District  and  the  river  which 
permeates  it  were  named  for  one  of  the  well-known 
streams   of  merrie   old   England.* 

*  The  Medway,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  is  a  noble  stream.  Its  trunk  and  branches  cover 
thirty  square  miles  of  the  surface  of  the  county,  and  its  length  is  nearly  sixty  miles, — 
of  which  forty  are  navigable.  This  river  well  deserves  the  name  of  Vaga,  by  which  the 
Britons  described  its  wanderings.  The  Saxons  added  the  syllable  Med,  the  sign  of  mid- 
dle, because  the  river  runs  through  the  centre  of  the  county,  and  thus  gets  its  present 
name  of  Medvoay. 

Encyclopapdia  Britanica,  8th  Edition,  vol.  xm.  Article  Kent,  p.  65. 

See  also  vol.  vui,  p.  716. 


148  THE  DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GE? 

On  the  only  plan  of  Sunbury  the  writer  has  been  able 
to  procure,  and  in  some  of  the  early  records,  this  river 
is  written  3fedway.  It  may  be  fairly  stated,  however, 
that  while  by  some  the  river  may  have  been  called  Med- 
way,  the  district  was  universally  known  as  Midivay.  The 
time-honored  church,  which  still  stands,  and  its  prede- 
cessor which  so  long  stood  near  the  intersection  of  the 
Savannah  and  Darien,  and  the  Sunbury  roads,  are  both 
remembered  as  the  Midivay  and  not  3Iedway  congrega- 
tional meeting  houses.  We  are  persuaded  that  the  river 
as  well  as  the  district  were  both  named  Midway ; — the 
former  being  called  for  the  latter. 

By  an  act  dividing  the  several  districts  and  divisions  of 
the  Province  of  Georgia  into  Parishes,  passed  the  15th 
day  of  March,  1758,"^  it  was  provided  that  "  the  town  of 
Hardwick  and  district  of  Ogechee,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river  Great  Ogechee,  extending  northwest  up  the  said 
river  so  far  as  the  Lower  Indian  trading  path  leading 
from  Mount  Pleasant,  and  southward  from  the  town  of 
Hardwick  as  far  as  the  swamp  of  James  Dunham,  in- 
cluding the  settlements  on  the  north  side  of  the  north 
branches  of  the  river  Midway,  with  the  islands  of  Ossa- 
baw,  and  from  the  head  of  the  said  Dunham's  Swamp  in 
a  north-west  line,  shall  be  and  forever  constitute  a  parish 
by  the  name  of  '  The  Parish  of  St.  Philip ' :  from  Sunbury 
in  the  district  of  Midway  and  Newport  from  the  southern 
bounds  of  the  parish  of  St.  Philip,  extending  southward 
as  far  as  the  north  line  of  Samuel  Hastings,  and  from 
thence  southeast  to  the  south  branch  of  Newport,  includ- 
ing .the  islands  of  St.  Katharine  and  Bermuda,  and  from 
the  north  hne   of    the   said    Samuel    Hastings  northwest, 

♦  Marbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  pp.  150  152. 


SUNBURY.  149 

shall  be  and  forever  continue  a  parish  by  the  name  of  '  The 
Parish  of  St.  John '  :  the  town  and  district  of  Darien, 
extending  from  the  south  boundary  of  the  parish  of  St. 
John  to  the  river  Alatamaha,  including  the  islands  of 
Sapelo  and  Eastwood,  and  the  sea  islands  to  the  north 
of  Egg  island  northwest  up  the  river  Alatamaha  to  the 
forks  of  the  said  river,  shall  be  and  forever  continue  a 
parish  by  the  name  of  '  The  Parish  of  St.  Andrew : '  and 
the  town  and  district  of  Frederica,  including  the  islands 
of  Great  and  Little  St.  Simons,  and  the  adjacent  islands 
shall  be  and  forever  continue  a  parish  by  the  name  of  *  The 
Parish  of  St.  James.' " 

Such  were  the  territorial  limits  of  the  four  southern 
parishes  of  the  province,  approved  by  Governor  Ellis,  and 
designed  to  promote  the  establishment  of  religious  worship 
according  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of 
England.* 

As  the  early  population  of  Sunbury  was  largely  drawn 
from  the  members  of  the  Midway  congregation, — the  most 
pronounced  society  existing  within  the  limits  of  St.  John's 
parish  at  the  time  of  its  formation, — a  brief  sketch  of  that 
congregation  and  its  establishment  in  Georgia,  may  not  be 
deemed  irrelevant. 

Early  in  1697  a  body  of  Puritans  from  the  Towns  of 
Dorchester,  Roxbury,  and  Milton,  in  Massachusetts,  taking 
with  them  their  pastor, — the  Reverend  Joseph  Lord, — 
and  proclaiming  as  a  leading  object  the  encouragement  of 
churches  and  the  promotion  of  rehgion  in  the  Southern 
plantations,  removed  with  their  families  and  personal  effects 


*  Under  tfie  writs  of  election  iaatied  by  Sir  James  Wright  in  1761,  Thomas  Carter,  Par- 
menus  Way  and  John  Winn  were  returned  as  members  from  Midway  and  Sunbury  in  St. 
John's  Parish. t 

t  McCall's  Georgia,  vol.  i,  p.  286. 


150  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEOKGIA. 

and  formed  a  new  home  at  Dorchester,  in  the  province  of 
South  OaroUna.  The  church  which  they  there  established 
was  the  first  Congregational  or  Independent  Church  within 
the  confines  of  that  Colony.  All  the  other  religious  socie- 
ties belonged  to  the  established  Church  of  England. 

After  a  residence  of  more  than  fifty  years,  finding  their 
lands  impoverished  and  insufficient  for  the  rising  genera- 
tion,— Dorchester  and  Beach-Hill  proving  very  unhealthy, — 
the  good  reports  of  the  lands  in  Georgia  having  been  con- 
firmed upon  the  personal  inspection  of  certain  members  of 
the  Society  who  had  been  sent  for  that  purpose,  and  a 
grant  of  22,400  acres  of  land  having  been  secured  from 
the  authorities  in  Georgia, — which  grant  was  subsequently 
enlarged  by  the  addition  of  9,950  acres, — the  members  of 
the  Dorchester  Society  commenced  moving  in  1752  into 
what  is  now  the  swamp  region  of  Liberty  County.  The 
settlement  lay  between  Mount  Hope  Swamp, — the  head 
of  Midway  riv<^r, — on  the  North,  and  Bull-Town  Swamp 
on  the  South.  At  first,  however,  it  was  not  so  compre- 
hensive. It  extended  neither  to  the  pine  barrens  on  the 
West,  nor  to  the  salt  water  on  the  East.  This  immigi-a- 
tion,  begun  in  1752,  was  continued  until  1771,  when  it 
ceased.*  According  to  the  records  of  the  Society,  there 
were  forty-four  removals  in  all,  of  which  one  family  came 
from  Charlestown,  four  from  Pon-Pon,  and  the  remaining 
thirty-nine   from    Dorchester    and    Beach-Hill.      These   re- 


♦DeBrahm  says:  "The  Beach-Hill  Congregation  settled  upon  the  Heads  of  the  two 
Newport  Rivers  early  in  the  year  1752,  when  they  left  Carolina  in  a  great  Body,  they  con- 
tinued drawing  their  Effects  and  Cattle  after  settling  all  other  Concerns  in  their  native 
Province  until  1755,  many  rich  Carolina  Planters  followed  the  Example  of  that  Congre- 
gation, and  came  with  all  their  Families  and  Negroes  to  settle  in  Georgia  in  1762 ;  the 
Spirit  of  Emigration  out  of  South  Carolina  into  Georgia  became  so  universal  that  year, 
that  this  and  the  following  year  near  one  thousand  Negroes  was  brought  in  Georgia, 
where  in  1751  were  scarce  above  three  dozen. "t 

t  History  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  &c.,  p.  21.    Wormsloe,  IBIO. 


SUNBURY.  151 

movals  were  most  numerous  during  the  years  1754,  1755, 
and  1756.  These  immigrants  brought  their  negroes  with 
them,  and  it  appears  probable,  from  the  best  Kghts  before 
us,  that  the  population  of  this  colony,  after  its  full  estab-  I 
lishment,  consisted  of  about  350  whites,  and  1500  negro 
slaves. 

The  region  into  which  the  Dorchester  Congregation 
immigrated  was  already  known  as  the  Midway  District.  ^ 
To  the  General  Assembly  which  convened  in  Savannah  in 
1751,  Audley  Maxwell,  Esquire,  was  sent  as  a  delegate ; — 
its  population  then  entitling  it  to  such  representation. 
It  would  appear  that  a  number  of  families  residing  in  the 
Midway  District  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  Dorchester 
Congregation,  united  with  that  Society  after  it  was  regularly 
domiciled  in  its  new  home.  The  Dorchester  Colony  did 
not  immigrate,  in  its  entirety,  to  Georgia.  Some  families 
continued  to  dwell  a{  Dorchester  and  Beach-Hill,  where 
their  descendants  may  yet  be  found.  Others  removed  else- 
where. With  the  formation  of  the  new  settlement  in  St. 
John's  parish,  however,  the  old  Dorchester  colony  in  South 
Carolina  lost  its  integrity  and  distinctive  characteristics. 

In  locating  their  plantations  amid  the  swamps  of  St.  Xy 
John's  parish,  the  following  plan  was  adopted  :  After  laying 
by  their  crops  in  Carolina  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  the  plant- 
ers came  with  able-bodied  hands,  and,  during  the  winter, 
cleared  land  and  built  houses.  In  a  season  or  two  having 
thus  sufficiently  prepared  the  way,  they  brought  their  fami- 
lies and  servants  in  the  early  spring,  and  at  once  entered 
upon  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Thus  was  the  removal 
rendered  as  safe  and  comfortable  a§  the  nature  of  the 
case  permitted. 

Strange  to  say,  then-   dwellings  and  plantation  quarters 


152  THE  DEAD   TOWNS   OF  GEOMIA. 

were  invariably  located  on  the  edges  of  the  swamps,  in 
utter  disregard  of  the  manifest  laws  of  health.  In  such 
malarial  situations  was  the  entire  year  passed.  Their 
houses  at  first  were  built  of  wood,  one  story  high,  with 
dormer  windows  in  the  roofs,  small  in  size,  without  lights, 
with  no  inside  linings,  and  with  chimneys  of  clay.  The 
negro-houses  were  made  either  of  clay  or  poles.  For 
market,  rice  was  the  only  article  cultivated.  While  corn 
was  planted  on  the  upland,  chief  attention  was  bestowed 
upon  the  clearing,  ditching,  and  drainage  of  the  swamps. 
A  miasmatic  soil  was  thus  exposed  to  the  action  of  the 
sun,  at  their  very  doors.  The  consequence  of  such  injudi- 
cious location,  and  of  a  general  inattention  to  domestic 
comfort,  was  violent  sickness  and  considerable  mortality. 
So  frequent  were  the  deaths  among  children  that  they 
seldom  arrived  at  puberty.  Those  who  attained  the  age 
of  manhood  and  womanhood  possessed  feeble  constitutions. 
According  to  the  register  kept  by  the  Society,  from  1752 
to  1772, — the  period  during  which  this  settlement  was 
being  formed, — 193  births  and  134  deaths  occurred.  The 
mortality  was  greatest  during  the  months  of  September, 
October,  and  November.  April,  May,  June,  and  August 
appear  to  have  been  the  healthiest  months  : — June  par- 
ticularly so.  Bilious  fevers  in  the  fall,  and  pleurisies  in 
the  winter  and  spring,  were  the  diseases  which  proved  most 
fatal.  It  used  to  be  said  of  such  as  survived  a  severe 
attack  of  bilious  fever  in  the  fall,  that  they  would  certainly 
die  of  pleurisy  in  the  winter  or  spring. 

The  Indians  being  in  the  vicinity,  and  at  times  indulging 
in  acts  of  hostility,  ^some  of  the  houses  of  these  early 
settlers  were  made  of  hewn  cypress  logs  after  the  fashion 
of  block  houses,  and  were  bullet  proof. 


SUNBURY.  153 

The  style  of  agriculture  in  vogue  was  of  the  most  primi- 
tive sort.  The  ground  was  tilled  with  hoes  only.  Ploughs 
were  not  in  use.  All  rails  for  fencing  were  carried  on 
the  heads  and  shoulders  of  the  negroes,  and  in  the  same 
manner  was  rice  transported  from  the  fields.  This  grain 
was  not  only  threshed  but  also  beaten  by  hand  :  and  thus 
was  the  crop  prepared  for  market.  At  first  some  of  the 
planters  sold  their  crops  in  Savannah.  A  trip  to  that 
place  was  the  event  of  the  year,  and  the  anticipated  jour- 
ney was  talked  of  in  the  neighborhood  for  some  time  be- 
fore it  was  undertaken.  Horses  were  specially  fed  and 
carefully  attended  for  a  week  or  more  preparatory  to  the 
jaunt.  Ordinary  journeys  to  church,  and  of  a  social  char- 
acter, were  performed  on  horseback.  Hence  horse-blocks 
were  to  be  seen  at  every  door.  When  he  would  a-woo- 
ing  go,  the  gallant  appeared  mounted  upon  his  finest 
steed  and  in  his  best  attire,  followed  by  a  servant  on  an- 
other horse,   conveying   his   master's    valise    behind    him. 

Shortly  after  the  Kevolutionary  war  stick-back  gigs 
were  introduced.  If  a  woman  were  in  the  vehicle  and 
unattended,  the  waiting  man  rode  another  horse,  keep- 
ing along  side  of  the  shaft  horse  and  holding  the  check 
rein  in  his  left  hand.  When  his  master  held  the  lines, 
the  servant  rode  behind.  Men  often  went  armed  to  church 
for   fear  of  the  Indians. 

The  country  was  filled  with  game.  Ducks  and  wild 
geese  in  innumerable  quantities  frequented  the  rice-fields. 
Wild  turkeys  and  deer  abounded.  Bears  and  beavers 
were  found  in  the  swamps,  and  buffalo  herds  wandered 
at  no  great  remove  to  the  southward  and  northward. 
There  was  no  lack  of  squirrels,  raccoons,  opossums,  rab- 
bits,   snipe,    wood-cock,   and   quail.     Wildcats    and   hawks 

20 


154  THE  DEAD  ToWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

Avere  the  pest  of  the  region,  while  the  cougar  was  some- 
times heard  and  seen  in  the  depths  of  the  vine-clad 
swamps.  The  waters  which  they  held  were  alive  with 
fishes,   alligators,   terrapins,    and   snakes. 

Such,  in  a  few  words,  was  the  condition  of  the  swamp 
region  of  the  Midway  District  when  the  town  of  Sun- 
bury  was  located.  Responding  to  the  trust  reposed  in 
them  by  the  conveyance  from  Mark  Carr,  Messrs.  James 
Maxwell,  Kenneth  Baillie,  John  Elliott,  Grey  Elliott,  and 
John  Stevens,  with  due  dispatch  set  about  laying  off  the 
town  upon  the  "westermost  bank"  of  Midway  river. 
The  plan,  as  matured  and  carried  out  by  them,  embraced 
three  public  squares, — known  respectively  as  King's^  Church, 
and  fleeting, — and  four  hundred  and  ninety-six  lots.  These 
lots  had  a  uniform  front  of  seventy  feet,  and  were  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  feet  in  depth.  Lots  nun^bers  one  to  forty, 
inclusive,  fronting  on  the  river,  were  denominated  Bay  Lots, 
and  carried  with  them  the  ownership  of  the  shore  to  low- 
water  mark.  Four  lots  constituted  a  block,  bounded  on 
three  sides  by  streets,  and  on  the  fourth  by  a  lane.  The 
streets  were  seventy-five  feet  broad,  and  the  lanes  twenty 
feet  wide.  The  plan  of  the  town  was  entirely  regular.  The 
streets  in  one  direction  ran  at  right  angles  to  the  river,  and 
were,  at  right  angles,  intersected  by  the  cross  streets  and 
lanes.  From  north  to  south  the  length  of  Sunbury,  as  thus 
laid  out,  was  3430  feet.  Its  breadth  on  the  south  side  was 
2230  feet;  and  on  the  north,  1880  feet. 

Within  a  short  time  substantial  wharves  were  constructed, 
the  most  marked  of  which  were  subsequently  owned  and 
used  by  the  following  merchants  :  Kelsell  &  Spalding,  Fisher, 
Jones  &  Hughes,  Darling  &  Co.,  and  Lamott. 

That  Sunbury  must  rapidly  have  attracted  the  notice  of 


SUNBUEY.  155 

the  colonists  and  quickly  secured  a  population  by  no  means 
insignificant  or  destitute  of  influence  in  that  day  of  small 
things,  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  as  early  as  1761  the 
Governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  his  councD, 
estabUshed  and  declared  it  to  be  a  port  of  entry,  and 
appointed  Thomas  Carr,  Collector,  John  Martin,  Naval  Offi- 
cer, and  Francis  Lee,  Searcher.  These  appointments  were 
confirmed  by  the  Commissioners  of  his  Majesty's  Customs.* 
By  deed  prepared  by  Thomas  Bosomworth,  Malatche 
Opiya,  Mico,  Emperor  of  the  Upper  and  Lower  Creeks,  in 
consideration  of  ten  pieces  of  stroud,  twelve  pieces  of  duffles, 
two  hundred  weight  of  powder,  two  hundred  weight  of  lead, 
twenty  guns,  twelve  pairs  of  pistols,  a-nd  one  hundred 
weight  of  vermilion,  on  the  14th  day  of  December,  1749, 
conveyed  to  Thomas  and  Mary  Bosomworth  [formerly 
Musgrove]  Hussoope  or  Ossabaw  island,  Cowleggee  or 
St.  Catherine  island,t  and  Sapelo,  with  their  appurten- 
ances, warranting  the  same  to  them,  their  heirs,  and 
assigns,  so  long  as  the  sun  should  shine,  or  the  waters 
flow  in  the  rivers. :j:  This  claim  to  the  ownership  of 
these  valuable  islands  proved  a  very  annoying  one  to  the 
colonists.     After  years  of  litigation,  the  dispute  was  finally 


*See  Stevens'  Historj-  of  Georgia,  vol.  n,  p.  21.    Philadelphia,  1859, 

In  his  letter  to  Lord  Halifax,  written  in  1763,  Sir  James  Wright  says:  "I  judged  it 
neccH.sary  for  his  Majesty's  service  that  Sunbury,— a  well  settled  place,  having  an  exceed- 
ing good  harbour  and  inlet  from  the  sea, — should  be  made  a  Port  of  Entry  ;  and  I  have 
appointed  Thomas  Carr,  Collector,  and  John  Martin,  Naval  Officer  for  the  same.  There 
are  eighty  dwelling  houses  in  the  place  :  three  considerable  merchant  stores  for  supply- 
ing the  town  and  planters,  in  the  neighborhood  with  all  kinds  of  necessary  goods  ;  and 
around  it  for  about  fifteen  miles  is  one  of  the  best  settled  parts  of  the  country." 

t  When  visited  by  an  English  traveller  in  1743,  this  island  was  inhabited  by  eight  or 
ten  families  of  Indians,  who  had  considerable  tracts  of  open  land,  and  were  largely 
engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  corn.  It  abounded  with  game,  "on  which,"  says  the 
writer,  "the  good  Indians  regaled  us,  and  for  Greens  boiled  us  the  Tops  of  China  Briars, 
which  eat  almost  as  well  as  Asparagus."* 

*  London  Magazine  for  1745,  pp.  551,  552. 

t  McCall'8  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  214,  215.    Savannah,  1811. 


156  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

settled  in  1759,  by  Koyal  command,  by  admitting  a  demand 
of  Mrs.  Bosomworth  for  £450  for  goods  alleged  to  have  been 
expended  by  her  in  his  Majesty's  service  during  the  years 
1747  and  1748,  by  allowing  her  a  back  salary  at  the  rate  of 
XlOO  per  annum  for  sixteen  years  and  a  half,  during  which 
she  had  acted  in  the  capacity  of  government  agent  and  inter- 
preter, and  by  confirming  to  her  and  her  designing  husband 
full  right  and  title  to  St.  Catherine  island,  in  consideration 
of  the  fact  that  they  had  fixed  their  residence  and  planted 
there.* 

St.  Catherine  island  was  the  home  of  the  Bosomworths 
when  Sunbury  was  settled.  Some  fourteen  years  after- 
wards it  formed  the  residence  of  the  honorable  Button 
Gwinnett,  who,  having  disposed  of  his  stock  of  merchan- 
dise in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  with  the  proceeds  pur- 
chased some  negroes  and  a  tract  of  land  on  St.  Catherine, 
where  he  devoted  himself  to  agricultural  pursuits  until, 
on  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  he  was  sum- 
moned from  his  retirement  by  the  voice  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  t 

Captain  McCall,  in  alluding  to  the  early  history  of  Sun- 
bury,  says :  "  Soon  after  its  settlement  and  organization 
as  a  town,  it  rose  into  considerable  commercial  import- 
ance ;  emigrants  came  from  different  quarters  to  this 
healthy  maritime  port,  particularly  from  Bermuda :  about 
seventy  came  from  that  island,  but  unfortunately  for 
them  and  the  reputation  of  the  town,  a  mortal  epidemic 
broke  out  and  carried  off  about  fifty  of  their  number  the 
first  year  :  it  is  highly  probable  they  brought  the  seeds 
of    the   disease   with   them.     Of    the   remainder,   as   many 


*  See  Stevens'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  453,  454. 

tSee  Sanderson's  Biography  of  the  Signers,  vol.  in,  p.  120.    Philadelphia,  1823, 


SUNBURY.  157 

as  were  able,  returned  to  their  native  country.  This  cir- 
cumstance, however,  did  not  very  much  retard  the  grow- 
ing state  of  this  eligible  spot  :  a  lucrative  trade  was  car- 
ried on  with  various  parts  of  the  West  Indies  in  lumber, 
rice,  indigo,  corn,  &g.  Seven  square-rigged  vessels  have 
been  known  to  enter  the  port  of  Sunbury  in  one  day, 
and  about  the  years  1769  and  1770  it  was  thought  by 
many,  in  point  of  commercial  importance,  to  rival  Savan- 
nah. In  this  prosperous  state  it  continued  with  very 
little  interruption  until  the  war  commenced  between  Great 
Britain  and  America."* 

In  his  report  on  the  condition  of  the  Province  of 
Georgia,  dated  the  20th  of  September,  1773,  Sir  James 
Wright  mentions  Savannah  and  Sunbury  as  being  the 
only  ports  in  the  Province.  The  inlet  to  the  latter  he 
describes  as  "  very  good  ;  and,  although  the  river  is  not 
more  than  twenty  two  miles  in  length,  fifteen  feet  of  water 
may  be  carried  up  to  the  town  distant  twelve  miles  from 
the  sea."  From  the  same  source  we  learn  that  during 
the  year  1772  fifty-six  vessels  of  various  sorts .  were  en- 
tered and  cleared  at  the  custom  house  in  the  port  of 
Sunbury.t  The  collector  of  the  port  at  this  time  was 
James  Kitchen,  with  a  salary  of  X65  stg,  and  fees  of 
office  amounting  to  ,£90.  The  comptroller  and  searcher 
was  Isaac  Antrobus :  salary  £60 :  fees  of  office  amount- 
ing  to   a  Uke    sum. 

Sunbury  soon  commanded  the  rice  crop  from  the  adja- 
cent swamp  regions.  Indigo  was  planted  on  the  island 
just  below,  then  called  Bermuda,  and  now  known  as  the 
Colonel's  Island.     The  principal  trade  was  with  the  West 

*  McCall'8  History  of  Georgia,  vol,  i,  pp.  '255.  256,    Savannah,  1811. 

t  See  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  m,  p.  161,  et  seq.     Savannah, 
1873. 


158  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

Indies  and  with  the  Northern  Colonies.  From  the  former, 
supplies  of  rum  and  sugar  were  obtained,  and  from  the 
latter  rum,  flour,  biscuits,  and  provisions.  To  the  West 
Indies  were  shipped  rice,  corn,  peas,  indigo,  lumber, 
shingles,  live  stock,  and  barreled  beef  and  pork.  Governor 
Wright  regarded  the  trade  with  the  Northern  Colonies  as 
injurious  to  the  Province  of  Georgia,  because,  says  he, 
"  they  take  of  but  little  of  our  produce,  and  drain  us  of 
every  trifle  of  Gold  and  Silver  that  is  brought  here,  by 
giving  a  price  for  Guineas,  Moidores,  Johannes's  Pistols 
and  Dollars  far  above  their  real  and  intrinsic  value,  so 
that  we  can  never  keep  any  amongst  us."  So  anxious  was 
Sunbury  to  concentrate  all  the  trade  of  the  interior,  that 
at  one  time  it  was  proposed  to  connect  Midway  and  North 
Newport  rivers  by  a  canal  running  between  Bermuda  island 
and  the  main.  This  project,  however,  was  never  consum- 
mated. Occasionally  vessels  arrived  from  English  ports 
bringing  manufactured  goods,  but  such  generally  sought 
Savannah  as  the  port  of  entry  and  discharge.  The  pur- 
chases of  the  Sunbury  merchants  were  largely  made  in 
or  through  Savannah,  and  were  thence  conveyed  in  coast- 
ing sloops  and  schooners  through  the  inland  passages. 
Below  the  town,  and  on  the  road  to  the  Colonel's  island, 
is  a  locality  to  this  day  known  as  the  stave  landing,  whence, 
in  these  early  days,  constant  shipments  of  staves  and  shin- 
gles were  made.  On  the  eastern  side  of  that  island,  the 
site  of  the  old  shipyard  is  still  pointed  out  where  vessels 
were  repaired  and  new  ones  built.  It  was  here  that  the 
British  landed  during  the  Bevolutionary  war,  when,  under 
Lieut.  Col.  Fuser,  they  attempted  the  reduction  of  Sunbury. 
The  health  of  Sunbury  from  the  time  of  its  settlement 
until,  and  even  after  the  Revolutionary  war,  was  good.     It 


StJNBURT. 


159 


became   a   pleasant   residence   for    the    families    of    many 
planters    whose    plantations  were    located   in   the    swamp 


I 


» 


regions 

The 

followin 

g  is  a  "list  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  Town 

of  Sunbury  in 

Georgia,"  and  of  the  Lots  owned  by  them 

or  their  representatives  about  the  period  of  the  war  of  the 

Kevolution  : 

^ 

Lot 

No.     1.- 

—Mark  Carr. 

(( 

"        2. 

Arthur  Carnaby. 

(( 

3. 

Grey  EUiott. 

(( 

4. 

Do. 

(( 

"        5. 

Francis  Arthur. 

(( 

6. 

William  Graves. 

(1, 

7. 

Francis  Arthur. 

u 

"       8. 

John  Cubbidge. 

<( 

"        9. 

James  Maxwell. 

(( 

"      10. 

Mary  Spry. 

a 

"      11. 

Samuel  Bennerworth. 

(( 

"      12. 

Stephen  Dickinson. 

(( 

"      13. 

James  Fisher.  Schmidt  &  Molich. 

i( 

"      14. 

Do.                    Do. 

a 

"      15. 

Swinton  &  Co. 

ii 

"      16. 

Darling  &  Munro. 

(( 

"      17. 

Francis  Arthur. 

<( 

"      18. 

James  Derwell. 

(( 

"      19. 

Swinton  &  Co. 

t( 

"     20. 

Thomas  Peacock. 

(( 

"      21. 

Andrew  Darling. 

(( 

"      22. 

Thomas  Young. 

tt 

"     23. 

Do. 

(C 

"     24. 

Eoger  Kelsall, 

(I 

"     25. 

John  James. 

160  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

Lot   No.  26.— Joseph  Bacon. 

"  27.  John  Stewart,  Sen'r. 

"  28.  John  Lupton. 

"  29.  Dunbar,  Young  &  Co. 

"  30.  Do. 

"  31.  John  ElHott. 

"  32.  James  Dunham. 

"  33.  Lvman  Hall. 

"  34.  Do. 

"  35.  Samuel  Miller. 

"  36.  Kenneth  BaiUie,  Sen'r. 

"  37.  Samuel  Bennerworth. 

"  38.  Do. 

"  39.  William  Sererson. 

"  40.  Do. 

"  41.  Mark  Carr. 

"  42.  Tabitha  Bacon. 

"  43.  Do. 

"  44.  John  Winn. 

"  45.  David  Jervey. 

"  46.  Do. 

"  47.  Francis  Arthur. 

"  48.  Francis  Lee. 

"  49.  John  Quarterman,  Jr. 

"  50.  James  Dowell. 

"  51.  John  Irvine. 

"  52.  Jeremiah  Irvine. 

"  53.  Darling  &  Co. 

"  54.  Matthew  Smallwood. 

"  55.  William  Peacock. 

"  56.  Isaac  Lines. 

"  57.  John  Osgood. 


SUNBURY. 


161 


Lot  No.  58. — Rebecca  Way. 

"  59.  John  Stewart,  Sr. 

"  60.  John  Lupton. 

"  61.  James  Dunham. 

"  62.  John  Shave. 

"  63.  Jacob  Lockerman. 

"  64.  Paynter  Dickinson. 

"  65.  John  Lawson. 

"  66.  Do. 

•'  67.  Thomas  Ralph. 

"  68.  John  Quarterman,  Sr. 

"  69.  Thomas  Gouldsmith. 

"  70.  James  Houstoun. 

"  71.  John  Stevens. 

"  72.  Mark  Carr. 

"  73.  Hugh  Clark. 

"  74.  Do. 

"  75.  Kenneth  Baillie,  Sr. 

"  76.  Do. 

"  77.  Paris  Way. 

"  78.  Nathaniel  Yates. 

''  79.  WilUam  Dunham. 

"  80.  Charles  West. 

"  81.  Daniel  Slade. 

"  82.  Jacob  Lockerman. 

"  83.  Samuel  West. 

"  84.  Thomas  Carter,  P.  Schmidt. 

"  85.  John  Elliott. 

"  86.  Do. 

"  87.  William  Baker. 

"  88.  Do. 

"  89.  Audley  MaxweU. 


1G2 


THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OP  GEORGIA. 


Lot  No.  90.- 

—Elizabeth  Simmons. 

((      ( 

'     91. 

John  Graves. 

((      < 

'     92. 

Do. 

t(      I 

'     93. 

Robert  Bolton. 

((      ( 

'     94. 

John  Baker. 

tc           ( 

'     95. 

John  Humphreys. 

((         ( 

'     96. 

James  Fisher,  Francis  Guilland 

C(               t 

'     97. 

John  Lupton. 

U                ( 

'      98. 

Do 

l(           ( 

'      99. 

Henry  Saltus. 

a          ( 

'    100. 

Donald  McKay. 

te          ( 

'    101. 

Stephen  Dickinson. 

C(               ( 

'    102. 

Do. 

n          c 

'    103. 

William  Clark. 

iC               I 

'    104. 

Thomas  Christie. 

H               ( 

'    105. 

Samuel  Jeanes. 

<{             c 

'    106. 

Moses  Way. 

((           ( 

'    107. 

William  David. 

((           ( 

'   108. 

Paynter  Dickinson. 

(C                ( 

'    109. 

Francis  Lee. 

((           ( 

'    110. 

Do. 

11         I 

'    111. 

James  Harley. 

i(           I 

'    112. 

Samuel  Bacon. 

((         ( 

'    113. 

Tabitha  Bacon. 

((              c 

'    114. 

John  Stewart,  Snr. 

.'(              c 

'    115. 

Do. 

IC               I 

'    116. 

Do. 

iC               I 

'    117. 

Stephen  Dickinson. 

"         f 

'    118. 

Do. 

((           ( 

*    119. 

John  ElUott. 

((         ( 

'    120. 

Do. 

((         t 

*    121. 

Benjamin  Stevens. 

SUNBURY. 

Lot  No.  122. — John  Lynn. 

"       "  123.            Do. 

"  125.  John  Sutherland. 

"       "  126.                Do. 

"  127.  Samuel  Jeanes. 

"       "  128.            Do. 

"  129.  Joseph  Tickener. 

"       "  130.  William  Miller. 

"       "  131.  Kichard  Mills. 

"       "  132.              Do. 

"       "  133.  Peter  McKay. 

"  134.  James  Miller. 

"       "  135.              Do. 

"  136.  David  Jervey. 

"  137.  William  Da\'is. 

"      "  138.              Do. 

"  139.  Joseph  Serjeant. 

"  14*0.  John  Jones. 

"       "  141.  Strong  Ashmore. 

"  142.  Francis  Aithur. 

''  143.  Donald   McKay. 

"       "  144.                Do. 

"  145.  Andrew  Way. 

"  146.  James  Fisher. 

"       "  147.  George  Monis. 

"       "  148.  Thomas  Way. 

"       "  149.  James  Hatcher. 

"       "  150.              Do. 

"       "  151.  Francis  Arthur. 

"       "  152.                Do. 

"       "  153.                Do. 

"       "  154.                Do. 


163 


164 


THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 


Lot  No.  155.- 

156. 
157. 
158. 
159. 
160. 
161. 
162. 
163. 
164. 
165. 
166. 
167. 
168. 
169. 
170. 
171. 
172. 
173. 
174. 
175. 
176. 
177. 
178. 
179. 
180. 
181. 
182. 
185. 
186. 
189. 
190. 


-John  Perkins. 

Do. 
William  Lowe 

Do. 
Oharles  West. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
William  Peacock. 

Do. 
Charles  West. 

Do. 
William  Davis. 

Do. 
Francis  Lee. 

Do. 
Thomas  Vincent. 
Benjamin   Baker. 
Grey  Elliott. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
John  Lupton. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
T.   Quarterman, 
Joseph  Bacon. 
Susannah   Jones. 

Do. 
Barnard  Komans. 
Do. 


Schmidt  &  Molich. 
Do. 


SUNBURY.  165 

Lot  No.  191. — Barnard  Romans. 

"       "    192.  Do. 

"       "    200.  John  K.  Zubley. 

"    205.  Edward  Way. 

"       "    206.  Do. 

"    207.  James  Fisher. 

"       "    208.  Do. 

"       "    209.  Edward  Maham. 

"       "    210.  Do. 

"       "    211.  Richard  Spencer. 

'*       "    212.  Do. 

"       "    213.  William  Swinton. 

"       "    214.  Do. 

"    215.  Do. 

"       "    216.  Do.     * 

"       "    217.  Samuel  Jeanes. 

"       "    218.  Do. 

"       "    219.  Do. 

"       "    220.  Henry  Saltus. 

"       "    221.  James  ,Read. 

"       "    222.  Do. 

"       "    223.  Charles  West. 

"       "    224.  Do.                                           ,  ; 

'*       "    225.  John  Shave. 

"       "    226.  Do. 

"       "   227.  Richard  Baker. 

"    228.  Do. 

"       "    229.  Mam'k  Pen-y. 

"    230.  Do. 

"       **    231.  Thomas  Dunbar 

"    232.  Joshua  Snowden. 

"       "    233.  Samuel  Burnley.     Schmidt  &  Molich. 


166  THE  DEAJ)  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

Lot  No.  234.— Samuel  Burnley.     Schmidt  &  Molich. 


((           a 

235. 

Do. 

It          a 

236. 

Do. 

((          (( 

237. 

John  Milchett. 

«          (( 

238. 

Do. 

((              n 

239. 

James  Andrew. 

11             u 

240. 

Do. 

11          11 

241. 

William  Dunham. 

(I           (( 

242. 

Do. 

((          (( 

243. 

Samuel  Jeanes. 

(t           (( 

244. 

Winw'd  Mcintosh. 

H               (( 

245. 

David  Jervey. 

it          tt 

246. 

Do. 

ti          (I 

247. 

Francis  Lee. 

11          i( 

248. 

Samuel  Morecock. 

(t           (( 

249. 

Mark  Carr.             v 

((           (t 

250. 

Do. 

ti          it 

251. 

George  Bodington. 

it          ti 

252. 

Mary  Bateman. 

H              it 

253. 

John  Goff. 

(t           it 

257. 

Eobert  Bolton. 

tt         ti 

258. 

Do. 

ti           it 

265. 

Mark  Carr. 

tt           ti 

266. 

Do. 

il         It 

267. 

John  Bryan. 

it         tt 

268. 

Do. 

It         il 

269. 

Patrick  M.  Kay. 

It         it 

270. 

Do. 

ti         tt 

271. 

Benjamin  Andrew. 

ft         tl 

272. 

Do. 

a          ft 

273. 

Morgan  Tabb. 

ft          « 

274. 

Do. 

SUNBURY.  167 


Lot  No.  275.- 

-Morgan  Tabb. 

(( 

"    276. 

Do. 

(( 

"    277. 

James  Watcher. 

(( 

"    278. 

Do. 

(( 

"    279. 

Francis  Arthur. 

i( 

"    280. 

Do. 

i( 

"    281. 

John  Bryan. 

tt 

"   282. 

Samuel  Richardson. 

i( 

"   233. 

John  Gaspar  Stirkej. 

(I 

"    284. 

Do. 

iC 

"   285. 

John  Jones  (mulatto.) 

it 

"    289. 

Thomas.  Carter. 

(( 

"   290. 

Do. 

(C 

"    305. 

Do. 

(C 

"    306. 

Do. 

l( 

"    307. 

Do. 

(< 

"    308. 

Do. 

tt 

"    309. 

Do. 

tt 

"    313. 

Samuel  Tomlinson. 

tt 

"   314. 

Do. 

It 

"    315. 

Do. 

it 

"    317. 

William  Swinton. 

(I 

"    318. 

Do. 

It 

"    319. 

Do. 

tl 

"    320. 

Do. 

It 

"   340. 

Peter  McKay. 

tt 

"    341. 

Do. 

It 

"   342. 

Do. 

It 

"   343. 

Do. 

tt 

"    344. 

Do. 

it 

"   345. 

Do. 

tt 

"   346. 

Do. 

I6d  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  OEORGlA. 


Lot  No.  347.- 

—Peter  McKay. 

(( 

348. 

Do. 

ft 

349. 

Do. 

(C 

350. 

Do. 

(( 

351. 

Do. 

(( 

352. 

Thomas  Quarterman. 

(( 

353. 

Barrack  Norman. 

(( 

354. 

Do. 

t( 

355. 

Do. 

f{ 

356. 

Tarah,  Senior. 

(( 

357. 

Francis  Arthur. 

IC 

358. 

Do. 

it 

359. 

Frederick  Hobrendorff. 

i( 

360. 

Do. 

ft 

361. 

Joseph  Kichardson. 

ft 

362. 

Do. 

ft 

373. 

John  Ford. 

(( 

403. 

Thomas  Christie. 

ft 

404. 

Do. 

tt 

431. 

Marmaduke  Gerry. 

ft 

432. 

Do. 

ft 

433. 

Do. 

it 

434. 

Kobert  Smallwood. 

"  435.  Do. 

"  436*  John  Winn. 

"  437.  Francis  Arthur. 

"  438.  Do. 

"  473.  Do. 

"  474.  Do. 

"  475.  Do. 

"  476.  Do. 

"  477.  Do. 


SUNBURY.  169 

Lot  No.  478. — Samuel  Bacon. 
"    479.     Francis  Lee. 
"       ''    480.     John  Tutes. 

In  the  Spring  of  1773  William  Bartram,  at  the  request 
of  Dr.  Fothergill  of  London,  set  out  "to  explore  the 
Tegetable  kingdom,"  and  search  the  Floridas  and  the  west- 
ern portions  of  Carolina  and  Georgia  "for  the  discovery 
of  rare  and  useful  productions  of  nature."  In  his  charm- 
ing narrative  of  travels  and  observations,  he  presents  us 
with  this  glimpse  of  our  lost  town :  "  After  resting,  and  a 
little  recreation  for  a  few  days  in  Savanna,  and  having  in 
the  meantime  purchased  a  good  horse,  and  equipped  my- 
self for  a  journey  southward,  I  sat  off  early  in  the  morn- 
ing for  Sunbury,  a  sea-port  town  beautifully  situated  on 
the  main  between  Medway  and  Newport  rivers,  about  fif- 
teen miles  south  of  great  Ogeeche  river.  The  town  and 
harbour  are  defended  from  the  fury  of  the  seas  by  the 
north  and  south  points  of  St.  Helena  and  South  Catharine's 
islands ;  between  which  is  the  bar  and  entrance  into  the 
sound :  the  harbor  is  capacious  and  safe,  and  has  water 
enough  for  ships  of  great  burthen.  I  arrived  here  in  the 
evening  in  company  with  a  gentleman,  one  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, who  politely  introduced  me  to  one  of  the  principal 
families,  where  I  supped  and  spent  the  evening  in  a  circle 
of  genteel  and  polite  ladies  and  gentlemen."* 

The  following  day  was  occupied  in  exploring  Bermuda 
[now  Colonel's]  island,  whose  soil,  plantations  of  indigo, 
corn,  and  potatoes,  Indian  tumuli  of  eaith  and  shell,  flora 
and   fauna,  greatly  interested  and   delighted  him. 

"  On  the  morrow,"  continues  Mr.  Bartram,  "  obedient  to 
the  admonitions  of  my  attendant  spirit,  curiosity,    as  well 

*  Travels  Through  North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  &c.,  p.  5.     London,  1792. 
22 


170  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

as  to  gratify  the  expectations  of  my  worthy  patron,  I  again 
sat  off  on  my  southern  excursion  and  left  Sunbury  in  com- 
pany with  several  of  its  polite  inhabitants  who  were  going 
to  Medway  meeting,  a  very  large  and  well  constructed  place 
of  worship,  in  St.  John's  parish,  where  I  associated  with 
them  in  religious  exercise  and  heard  a  very  excellent  ser- 
mon delivered  by  their  pious   and  truly  venerable  pastor, 

the    Rev. Osgood.     This    respectable    congregation    is 

independent,  and  consists  chiefly  of  families  and  proselytes 
to  a  flock  which  this  pious  man  led,  about  forty  years  ago,* 
from  South  Carolina,  and  settled  in  this  fruitful  district. 
It  is  about  nine  miles  from  Sunbury  to  Medway  meeting- 
house, which  stands  on  the  high  road  opposite  the  Sun- 
bury road.  As  soon  as  the  congregation  broke  up  I  re- 
assumed  my  travels,  proceeding  down  the  high-road  to- 
wards Fort  Barrington,  on  the  Alatamaha,  passing  through 
a  level  country  well  watered  by  large  streams,  branches 
of  Medway  and  Newport  rivers,  coursing  from  extensive 
swamps  and  marshes,  their  sources :  these  swamps  are 
daily  clearing  and  improving  into  large  fruitful  rice  plan- 
tations, aggrandizing  the  well  inhabited  and  rich  district 
of   St.   John's   parish."t 

In  the  absence  of  records  it  is  impossible  to  specify,  with 
any  degree  of  accuracy,  the  ratio  of  increase  which  char- 
acterized the  population  of  Sunbury  during  the  first  twenty 
years  of  its  existence.  That  at  an  early  period  it  became  a 
favorite  resort  not  only  for  commercial  purposes  but  also  for 
health,  admits  of  no  doubt.  The  probability  is  that  this 
town  culminated  in  prosperity,  population,  and  importance, 
about  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  when  its  in- 

*  His  Observations  were  published  in  1792. 
tldem,  pp.  9.  10. 


SUNBURY.  171 

habitants,  white  and  black,  numbered,  we  should  say,  be- 
tween eight  hundred  and  a  thousand.  That,  until  the 
retarding  influences  of  the  Kevolutionary  struggle  were 
encountered,  Sunbury  had  steadily,  although  slowly,  ad- 
vanced in  material  wealth,  influence,  and  population,  may  be 
safely  asserted.  Bermuda  island,  too,  was  comfortably  settled 
by  agriculturists,  on  small  plantations,  busied  chiefly  with 
the  production  of  indigo.  Sunken  spaces,  indicating  where 
the  old  vats  were  located,  may  be  seen  to  this  day.  A  rich 
and  by  no  means  inconsiderable  back  country  was  entirely 
tributary  to  Sunbury.  Rice,  cattle,  lumber,  shingles,  staves, 
and  other  articles  of  commerce,  brought  from  the  furthest 
practicable  distances,  were  here  concentrated  for  sale  and 
shipment;  and  quite  an  extensive  territory  drew  its  sup- 
plies from  the  store-houses  and  shops  of  the  Sunbury 
merchants.  On  one  or  two  occasions  cargoes  of  Africans 
were  landed  and  sold  in  this  port.  The  houses,  although 
of  wood,  were  some  of  them  large,  and  even  imposing. 
The  wharves  were  faced  with  palmetto  and  live  oak  logs, 
and  filled  in  with  oyster  shells,  sand,  and  stone-ballast. 
Among  the  residents  were  not  a  few  of  gentle  birth,  refine- 
ment, and  education.  As  a  rule,  the  inhabitants  led  easy, 
comfortable,  simple  lives,  and  were  much  given  to  hospi- 
tality. No  one  was  ever  in  a  hurry,  and  the  mornings 
and  afternoons,  among  the  better  class,  were  largely  de- 
voted to  amusements,  such  as  fishing,  sailing,  riding, 
and  hunting.  The  evenings  were  spent  in  visiting  and 
in  social  intercourse.  It  was  a  good,  easy  life  that  these 
phinters,  even  at  that  early  day,  began  to  lead  upon  the 
Georgia  coast.  It  became  more  striking,  abundant,  and 
attractive  after  the  Revolution;  but  the  delightful  germs 
of  the    most    pleasing  ,  existence    this    country    has    ever 


172  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 


I 


known  were  then  present.  No  aid  seems  to  have  been 
invoked  from  the  Colonial  Council  in  either  supporting 
the  town  or  indicating  the  manner  in  which  it  should 
be  governed.  We  find  no  public  resolutions  or  acts  on 
the  subject  prior  to  the  legislation  of  1791.  In  all  like- 
lihood a  Magistrate's  Court,  and  the  concurrent  views  of 
a  few  of  the  prominent  citizens,  invoked  on  an  emergency, 
sufficed  for  the  preservation  of  order  and  the  maintenance 
of  peace. 

The  general  council,  however,  from  time  to  time,  ap- 
pointed packers,  inspectors,  and  "  cullers  of  lumber "  for 
the  port. 

By  an  act  passed  the  26th  of  March,  1767,  it  was  made 
obligatory  upon  the  inhabitants  to  ''clear  and  keep  clear 
the  several  squares,  streets,  lanes,  and  common "  within 
the  town.  In  consideration  of  such  service  they  were  de- 
clared exempt  from  road  duty  in  the  parish  of  St.  John.* 
By  the  constitution,  adopted  in  convention  at  Savannah  on 
the  5th  day  of  February,  1777,  the  parishes  of  St.  John, 
St.  Andrew,  and  St.  James,  were  consolidated  into  one 
county  called  Liberty.  The  counties  then  named  and  de- 
fined within  the  limits  of  Georgia  were  eight  in  all : — 
Wilkes,  Bichmond,  Burke,  Effingham,  Chatham,  Liberty, 
Glynn,  and  Camden.  While  to  each  of  the  other  counties 
was  accorded  a  representation  of  ten  members,  fourteen 
were  allowed  to  Liberty  in  consideration  of  its  extent  and 
importance.  Sunbury  was  permitted  two  special  and  addi- 
tional members  to  represent  the  trade  of  the  place ;  and, 
for  like  purpose.  Savannah  was  empowered  to  send  four. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  war  the  parish  of 
St.  John  possessed  nearly  one-third  the  wealth  of  the  entire 


*  See  Watkins'  Digest,  p.  144. 


SUNBITRT.  178 

province ;  and  its  inhabitants  were  remarkable  for  their 
upright  and  independent  character.*  Three  hundred  and 
seventeen  of  the  four  hundred  and  ninety-six  lots  into 
which  the  town  of  Sunburj  was  divided,  had  been  sold,  and 
were,  many  of  them  at  least,  occupied  by  their  respective 
proprietors  and  their  tenants.  Among  the  prominent  citi- 
zens was  Dr.  Lyman  Hall,  a  native  of  Connecticut  and  a 
member  of  the  Midway  congregation.  Although  owning  and 
cultivating  a  rice  plantation  situated  on  the  Savannah  and 
Darien  road  a  few  miles  beyond  Midway  meeting  house  in 
the  direction  of  Savannah,  he  was  the  proprietor  of  and  re- 
sided upon  two  of  the  most  desirable  lots  in  Sunbury,  num- 
bered 33  and  34  on  the  plan  of  that  town,  and  fronting  upon 
the  river.  He  was  the  leading  physician  not  only  of  the 
place  but  also  of  the  adjacent  country  for  many  miles.  It 
was  mainly  through  his  influence  that  the  parish  of  St. 
John  acted  independently  and  in  advance  of  the  Republican 
party  in  Georgia.  In  acknowledgment  of  the  decided  stand 
then  assumed  by  him,  he  was,  on  the  21st  of  March,  1775, 
unanimously  elected  as  a  delegate  to  represent  the  parish 
in  the  next  general  Congress.t  On  the  13th  of  May  fol- 
lowing, upon  the  production  of  his  credentials,  he  was  unani- 
mously admitted  to  a  seat  in  Congress  "  as  a  delegate  from 
the  parish  of  St.  John  in  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  subject  to 
such  regulations  as  the  Congress  should  determine  rela- 
tive to  his  voting."  He  carried  with  him  from  Sunbury, 
as  a  present  to  the  suffering  Republicans  in  Massachusetts, 
one  hundred  and  sixty  barrels  of  rice,  and  fifty  pounds 
sterling. 

It    was    not    until    the    15th    of    July,   1775,  that    the 

*  See  Stevens'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  n,  p.  92.    Philadelphia,  1859. 
t  See  Sanderson's  Biography  of  the  Signers,  vol.  iii,  p.  55.     Philadelphia,  1823. 
McCall's  Georgia,  vol.  u,  p.  41.    Savannah.  1816. 


174  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEOKGIA. 

Convention  of  Georgia  acknowledged  complete  allegiance 
to  the  general  Confederacy,  and  appointed  Archibald 
Bulloch,  John  Houstoun,  the  Rev'd  Dr.  Znblj,  Noble  W. 
Jones,  and  Lyman  Hall  as  delegates  to  the  Provincial 
Congress. 

Intermediately  between  the  time  when  Dr.  Hall  took 
his  seat  in  Congress  as  a  delegate  from  the  parish  of 
St.  John,  and  this  action  of  the  Convention,  as  he  repre- 
sented only  a  portion  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  he 
declined  voting  upon  questions  which  were  to  be  decided 
by  a  vote  of  Colonies.  He,  however,  participated  in  the 
debates,  advocated  the  necessity  and  value  of  the  present 
Congress,  recorded  his  opinion  in  all  cases  except  such 
as  required  an  expression  of  sentiment  by  Colonies,  and 
declared  his  earnest  desire  and  conviction  "that  the 
example  which  had  been  shown  by  the  parish  which  he 
represented  would  be  speedily  followed,  and  that  the 
representation  of   Georgia  would  soon  be  complete." 

When  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed,  of 
the  three  members  from  Georgia  whose  names  were 
affixed  to  that  memorable  document,  two — Lyman  Hall 
and  Button  Gwinnett, — were  from  St.  John's  parish :  and 
we  may  add,  from  the  town  of  Sunbury : — for,  although 
Gwinnett  then  resided  on  St.  Catharine  island,  his  home 
was  within  sight  of  that  flourishing  seaport,  all  his  public 
and  much  of  his  private  business  was  there  transacted, 
he  was  constantly  seen  in  its  streets,  was  known  and  hon- 
ored of  its  citizens,  and  in  very  truth  constituted  one  of 
them.  Two  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
from  one  little  town  in  St.  John's  parish !  and  that  town 
clean  gone  from  the  face  of  that  beautiful,  lonely,  and 
bermuda-covered  bluff!     It  is    in    perpetuating  acts    and 


StJNBtTRY.  •  175 

names  like  these  that  memory  stays  the  engulfing  waves 
of  oblivion,  and  administers  signal  rebuke  to  "  time  which 
antiquates  antiquities  and  hath  an  art  to  make  dust  of  all 
things."*  Did  the  limits  of  this  sketch  permit,  it  would 
be  interesting  to  detail  the  efforts  made  by  the  parish  of 
St.  John  to  persuade  positive  resistance  to  English  rule 
and  inaugurate  steps  contemplating  an  absolute  separation 
from  the  mother  country  when  the  greater  part  of  Georgia 
was  not  persuaded  of  the  expediency  of  such  action  and 
was  actually  opposed  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  So  determined  and  independent  was  the  rebel 
spirit  in  Sunbury,  throughout  the  Midway  settlement,  and 
at  Darien,  that  it  actually  brought  about,  for  the  time 
being,  a  voluntary  political  separation  from  the  other 
parishes  of  the  Colony.  So  annoyed  were  the  citizens 
of  St.  John's  parish  by  the  temporizing  policy  which  char- 
acterized the  Savannah  Convention,  that  on  the  9th  of 
February,  1775,  they  applied  to  the  Committee  of  Cor- 
respondence in  Charleston  "requesting  permission  to  form 
an  alliance  with  them  and  to  conduct  trade  and  commerce 
according  to  the  act  of  non-importation  to  which  they  had 
already  acceded."  It  was  strongly  urged  that  having  de- 
tached themselves  from  the  other  parishes  in  Georgia  which 
hesitated  to  participate  in  the  movement,  they  ought  to 
be  considered  and  received  as  a  "separate  body  compre- 
hended within  the  spirit  and  equitable  meaning  of  the  Con- 
tinental Association,  "t 

While   admiring  the   patriotism   of   the  parish,  and    en- 
treating its  citizens  to  "persevere   in  their  laudable  exer- 

*  Sir  Thomas  Browne's  Hydriotaphia. 

tSee  Letter  of  the  9th  of  February,  1775,  signed  by  Lyman  Hall,  Chairman. 

White's  Historical  Collections  of  Georgia,  pp.  520,  521.    New  York,  1855. 

Sanderson's  Biography  of  the  Signers,  vol.  ni.  p.  54.    Philadelphia,  1823. 


176  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

tions,"  the  Carolinians  conceived  it  improper,  and  "  a  vio- 
lation of  the  Continental  Association  to  remove  the  pro- 
hibition in  favor  of  any  part  of   a  province." 

Disappointed,  and  yet  not  despairing,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  parish  of  St.  John  "  resolved  to  prosecute  their 
claims  to  an  equality  with  the  Confederated  Colonies." 
Having  adopted  certain  resolutions  by  which  they  obliga- 
ted themselves  to  hold  no  commerce  with  Savannah,  or 
elsewhere,  except  under  the  supervision  of  a  Committee, 
and  ,then  only  for  the  absolute  necessaries  of  life,  they 
appointed  Dr.  Hall,  as  we  have  already  seen,  an  independ- 
ent delegate  to  represent  the  parish  in  the  general  con- 
gress of  provinces. 

The  patriotic  spirit  of  its  inhabitants,  and  this  inde- 
pendent action  of  St.  John's  parish  in  advance  of  the  other 
parishes  of  Georgia,  were  afterwards  acknowledged  when 
all  the  parishes  were  in  accord  in  the  Revolutionary  move- 
ment. As  a  tribute  of  praise,  and  in  token  of  general  ad- 
miration, by  special  act  of  the  Legislature  the  name  of 
Liberty  County  was  conferred  upon  the  consolidated  par- 
ishes of  St.  John,  St.  Andrew,  and  St.  James.  Sir  James 
Wright  was  not  far  from  the  mark  when  he  located  the 
head  of  the  rebellion  in  St.  John's  parish,  and  advised 
the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  that  the  rebel  measures  there  in- 
augurated were  to  be  mainly  referred  to  the  influence  of 
the  "  descendants  of  New  England  people  of  the  Puritan 
Independent  sect"  who,  retaining  "a  strong  tincture  of  Re- 
publican or  Oliverian  principles,  have  entered  into  an  agree- 
ment amongst  themselves  to  adopt  both  the  resolutions 
and  association  of  the  Continental  Congress."  On  the 
altars  erected  within  the  Midway  district  were  the  fires 
of  resistance  to  the  dominion  of  England  earliest  kindled; 


SUNBIJRY.  177 

and  Lyman  Hall,  of  all  the  dwellers  there,  by  his  counsel, 
exhortations,  and  determined  spirit,  added  stoutest  fuel  to 
the  flames.  Between  the  immigrants  from  Dorchester  and 
the  distressed  Bostonians  existed  not  only  the  ties  of  a 
common  parentage,  but  also  sympathies  born  of  the  same 
religious,  moral,  social,  and  political  education.  Hence  we 
derive  an  explanation  of  the  reason  why  the  Midway  set- 
tlement declared  so  early  for  the  Kevolutionists.  The  Pu- 
ritan element  cherishing  and  proclaiming  intolerance  of 
established  church  and  the  divine  right  of  Kings,  •  im- 
patient of  restraint,  accustomed  to  independent  thought 
and  action,  and  without  associations  which  encouraged 
tender  memories  of  and  love  for  the  mother  country,  as- 
serted its  hatreds,  its  affiliations,  and  its  hopes  with  no 
uncertain   utterance,   and   appears   to   have   controlled   the 

iiction   of  the   entire   parish.* 

When  it  became  evident  that  England  was  resolved  to 
coerce   her   Colonies,   the   inhabitants   of    Sunbury   and   of 

>t.  John's  parish   determined   to   place  themselves   in   the 
)8t  possible  condition  for  effective  resistance.     While  some 

>f  the  citizens  joined   the  State  miUtia  and  the  regularly 


*The  apparent  tanliuess  and  hesitancy  on  the  part  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia  in  casting 
ier  lot  with  her  Sister  Colonies  at  the  inception  of  those  movements  which  culminated 

a  dt'clai'ation  of  independence,  may  be  excused  or  accounted  for  when  we  remember 

lat  she  was  the  yoimgest  and  the  least  prepared  of  all  the  Colonies,  and  recall  the  fact 
[that  Schovilites,  leagued  with  Indians,  wore  scourging  her  borders  and  awakening  in  the 
t'brea^'ts  even  of  the  most  patriotic  and  daring,  gravest  apprehensions  for  the  safety  of  their 
[wives  and  children.    "The  charge  of  inactivity  vanishes,"  says  Captain  McCall,  "  when 

le  sword  and  hatchet  are  held  over  the  heads  of  the  actors  to  compel  them  to  lie  still. "t 

During  the  progress  of  the  Revolution  the  term  Schovilite  which,  at  first,  was  used 

[to  designate  not  only  the  bandit  follower  of  Schovil,  but  also  every  adherent  of  th'fe  Crown 

in  the  Southern  provinces,  was  dropped,  and  that  of  Loyalist  and  Tory  substituted.    The 

1  Revolutionists  were  known  as  Whigs,  Rebels,  and  Patriots.    Many  Loyalists  who  had  fled 

)m  the  Caroliuas  and  Georgia  secured  a  retreat  in  East  Florida  whence,  having  associated 
[with  themselves  parties  of  Indians,  under  the  name  of  Florida  Rangers,  they  indulged  In 
[predatory  incursions  into  Georgia  to  the  great  loss  and  disquietude  of  the  southern  por- 
[tions  of  the  Province. 

t  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  ir,  p.  i.    Savannah,  1816. 
23 


178  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

constituted  Colonial  forces,  others  formed  themselves  into 
an  infantry  company,  and  a  troop  of  horse,  for  local  defense. 
The  latter  was  commanded  by  Captain  John  Baker,  who 
afterwards  attained  the  rank  of  Colonel,  and,  in  association 
with  Colonels  Cooper  and  Andrew  Maybank,  and  Major 
Charles  West,  rendered  signal  service  in  the  partisan  war- 
fare which  ensued. 

For  the  immediate  protection  of  Sunbury  a  fort  was 
built  just  below  the  town  upon  the  point  where  the  high 
ground  ended  and  the  wide  impracticable  marshes  between 
the  main  and  Bermuda  island  commenced. 

A  small  defensive  work  may  have  existed  here  at  an 
earlier  date.  The  Eecord  Book  of  Midway  Church  dis- 
closes the  fact  that  in  1756  a  letter  was  received  from  the 
honorable  Jonathan  Bryan, — one  of  his  Majesty's  council 
for  the  Colony, — conveying  the  intelligence  that  the  Indians 
were  much  incensed  at  several  of  their  people  having  been 
killed  by  some  settlers  on  the  Great  Ogeechee  river  in  a 
dispute  about  cattle,  and  advising  the  Midway  congregation, 
with  expedition,  to  construct  a  fort  for  their  protection. 
"People,"  continues  the  Journal,  "are  very  much  alarmed 
with  the  news,  and  consultations  were  immediately  had 
about  the  building  and  place  for  a  fort,  and  it  ivas  determined 
by  a  majority  that  it  should,  be  at  Captain  Mark  Carr's,  low 
down,  and  upon  the  river  near  the  sound,  at  about  seven  or 
eight  miles  distance  from,  the  nearest  of  the  settlement  of  the 
Society,  lohich  accordingly  tvas  begun  on  the  20th  September, 
1756."* 

On  the  11th  of  July  following,  apprehending  an  attack 
from  a  French  privateer,  the  Midway  people  were  sum- 
moned to  Sunbury,  where  they  "  raised  a  couple  of  batteries 

♦  See  White's  Historical  Collections  of  Georgia,  pp.  517,  518.     New  York,  1855. 


SUNBURY.  179 

and  made  carriages  for  eight  small  cannon  which  were  at 
the  place."  These  were  probably  nothing  more  than  field 
works  thrown  up  on  the  bluff  just  in  front  of  the  town.  It 
is  to  these  little  forts  that  Governor  Ellis  alluded  when, 
upon  his  second  tour  of  inspection  through  the  southern 
portion  of  the  Province,  he  "  was  pleased  to  observe  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Midway  District  had  enclosed  their 
church  within  a  defence,  and  had  erected  a  battery  of  eight 
gunfi  at  Sunhury  in  a  position  to  command  the  river,"* 

The  State  of  Georgia  being  under  consideration,  it  was 
resolved  by  Congress,  on  the  5th  of  July,  1776,  to  raise 
two  battalions  (one  of  them  to  consist  of  riflemen)  to  serve 
in  Georgia ;  that  blank  commissions  be  sent  to  the  Con- 
vention of  Georgia  to  be  filled  up  with  the  names  of  such 
persons  as  the  Convention  should  deem  proper ;  that  the 
Legislatures  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  South  Caro- 
hna  be  recommended  to  allow  recruits  for  these  battalions 
to  be  enlisted  in  their  several  States ;  that  four  galleys 
be  built  for  the  defense  of  the  sea-coast,  and  that  two 
artillery  companies,  of  fifty  men  each,  be  enlisted  to  garrison 
two  forts  ivhich  the  State  ivas  to  erect  at  Savannah  and  Sun- 
hnry.f 

It  may,  we  presume,  be  safely  asserted  that  the  heavy 
earthwork  on  Midway  river,  just  south  of  Sunbury,  was 
laid  out  and  erected  about  the  period  of  the  commencement 
of  the  Kevolutionary  war.  If  any  prior  defense  there 
existed,  it  was  so  modified  and  enlarged  as  completely 
to   lose   its   identity. 

♦Stevens'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  U5,  446.    New  York,  1847. 
t  Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  i,  p.  375. 

Stevens'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  n,  p.  151.    Philadelphia,  1859. 
Three  days  afterwards  Congress  appropriated  $60,000  for  the  support  of  the  battalions 
thus  ordered  to  be  raised. 


180  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

The  names  of  those  who  were  specially  charged  with 
the  construction  of  this  fort  have  not  been  perpetuated, 
but  it  lives  in  tradition  that  the  planters  of  Bermuda  island 
and  of  the  Midway  District,  and  the  citizens  of  Sunbury 
contributed  mainly  to  its  erection.  It  was  built  chiefly 
by  slave  labor,  and  was  armed  with  such  cannon  as  could 
be  procured  on  the  spot,  or  obtained  elsewhere.*  That 
its  armament  was  by  no  means  inconsiderable  will  be  con- 
ceded when  it  is  remembered  that  twenty-five  pieces  of 
ordnance  were  surrendered  by  Major  Lane  when  he  yielded 
the  ownership  of  this  work  to  Colonel  A.  Prevost.  These 
guns,  however,  wfere  small,  consisting  of  4,  6,  9,  12,  and 
18-pounders,  with  perhaps  one  or  two  24-pounders.  It 
was  called  by  the  Americans,  Fort  Morris  ;t  but,  upon  its 
capture  by  Colonel  Prevost,  its  name  was  by  him  changed 
to  Fort  George. 

At  the  inception  of  the  Revolutionary  war  the  coast  de- 
fenses of  Georgia  were  in  a  most  pitiable  and  dilapidated 
condition.  All  her  forts  were  in  ruins,  or  nearly  so.  On 
the  20th  of  September,  1773,  Sir  James  Wright, — who 
makes  no  mention  of  any  defensive  work  at  Sunbury, — 
reports  Fort  George  on  Cockspur  island,  which  was  built 
in  1762  of  mud  walls  faced  with  palmetto  logs,  with  a  ca- 
poniere  inside  to  serve  for  officers'  apartments,  as  "  almost 
in  ruins,  and  garrisoned  only  by  an  officer  and  three  men, 
just  to  make  signals,  <fec."  Fort  Halifax,  within  the  town 
of  Savannah,  constructed  in  1759  and  1760,  and  made  of 
plank  filled  in  with  earth,  with  the  exception  of  two  of 
its  caponieres,  was  totally  down   and   unfit   for   use.    Fort 

*  It  is  not  improbable  that  some  of  these  guns  may  have  been  brought  from  Frederica  ; 
for  the  Council  of  Safety  had  ordered  all  warlike  stores  at  that  place  to  be  secured. 

t  In  compliment  to  Captain  Morris,  commanding  a  company  of  Continental  Artillery 
raised  for  coast  defence.    By  this  company  was  the  fort  garrisoned  upon  its  completion. 


«         «^«    •       *  '      *^* 


\ 


(\V\\m  Dieifi""'''  '^''^^■^ 


I'ort  Morris 


J.Sien  Phc(o.LiUi.N.Y. 


SUNBURY.  181 

Frederick,  at  Frederica,  erected  by  General  Oglethorpe 
when  his  regiment  was  stationed  there,  had  been  without 
a  garrison  for  upwards  of  eight  years,  and  although  some 
of  its  tabby  walls  remained,  the  entire  structure  was  fast 
passing  into  decay.  Fort  Augusta,  in  the  town  of  Augusta, 
made  of  three-inch  plank,  had  been  neglected  since  1767 
and  was  rotten  in  every  part.  Fort  Barrington  on  the 
Alatamaha  river  was  in  like  condition.  Of  the  fort  at 
New  Ebenezer,  of  Fort  William  on  the  southern  extrem- 
ity of  Cumberland  island,  of  Fort  Argyle,  and  of  the 
other  minor  defenses  erected  in  the  early  days  of  the  Col- 
ony,  scarce  a  vestige  remained. 

Located  some  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards  due  south 
of  Sunbury,  and  occupying,  the  bluff  where  it  first  con- 
fronts Midway  river  as,  trending  inward  from  the  sound, 
it  bends  to  the  north,  Fort  Morris  was  intended  to  cover 
not  only  the  direct  water  approach  to  the  town,  but  also 
the  back  river  by  means  of  which  that  place  might  be 
passed  and  taken  in  reverse.  Its  position  was  well  chosen 
for  defensive  purposes.  To  the  south  stretched  a  wide- 
spread and  impracticable  marsh  permeated  by  Pole-haul 
and  Dickerson  creeks, — two  tributaries  of  Midway  river, — 
whose  mouths  were  commanded  by  the  gans  of  the  fort. 
This  marsh  also  extended  in  front  of  the  work,  constituting 
a  narrow  and  yet  substantial  protection  against  landing 
parties,  and  gradually  contracting  as  it  approached  the 
southern  boundary  of  Sunbury.  This  fortification  was  an 
enclosed  earth- work,  substantially  constructed.  Its  walls 
embraced  a  parade  about  an  acre  in  extent.  The  eastern 
face,  confronting  the  river,  was  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  feet  in  length.  Here  the  heaviest  guns  were  mounted. 
The   northern   and  southern   faces   were    respectively    one 


182  ..  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

hundred  and  nin-ety-one,  and  one  hundred  and  forty  feet 
in  length,  while  the  curtain,  looking  to  the  west,  was  two 
hundred  and  forty-one  feet  long.  Although  quadrangu- 
lar, the  work  was  somewhat  irregular  in  shape.  From  the 
southern  face  and  the  curtain,  no  guns  could  be  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  river.  Those  there  mounted  served  only 
for  defense  against  a  land  attack.  The  armament  of  the 
northern  face  could  be  opposed  to  ships  which  succeeded 
in  passing  the  fort,  until  they  ascended  the  river  so  far 
as  to  get  beyond  range.  It  also  commanded  the  town 
and  the  intervening  space.  The  guns  were  mounted  en 
barbette,  without  traverses.  Seven  embrasures  may  still 
be  seen,  each  about  five  feet  wide.  The  parapet,  ten  feet 
wide,  rises  six  feet  above  the  parade  of  the  fort,  and  its 
superior  slope  is  about  twenty-five  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  river  at  high  tide.  Surrounding  the  work  is  a  moat 
at  present  ten  feet  deep,  ten  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  and 
twice  that  width  at  the  top.  Near  the  middle  of  the 
curtain  may  be  seen  traces  of  a  sally-port  or  gateway, 
fifteen  feet  wide.  Such  is  the  appearance  of  this  aban- 
doned work  as  ascertained  by  recent  survey.  Completely 
overgrown  by  cedars,  myrtles,  and  vines,  its  presence  would 
not  be  suspected,  even  at  a  short  remove,  by  those  unac- 
quainted with  the  locality.  Two  iron  cannon  are  now 
lying  half  buried  in  the  loose  soil  of  the  parade,  and  a 
third  will  be  found  in  the  old  field  about  midway  between 
the  fort  and  the  site  of  the  town.  During  the  recent 
war  between  the  States,  two  6-pounder  guns  were  re- 
moved from  this  fort  and  carried  to  Riceboro.  No  use, 
however,  was  made  of  them.  Two  more,  of  similar  calibre, 
of  iron,  and  very  heavily  reinforced  at  the  breech,  were 
taken  by  Captain  C.  A.  L.  Lamar, — whose  company  was 


SUNBURT.  183 

then  stationed  at  Sunbury, — and  temporarily  mounted  on 
the  bhiff  to  serve  as  signal  guns.  Despite  their  age  and 
the  exposure  to  which  they  had  so  long  been  subjected, 
these  pieces  were  in  such  excellent  condition  that  they 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  Ordnance  department,  and  were 
soon  transported  to  Savannah.  There  they  were  cleaned, 
mounted  upon  siege  carriages,  and  assigned  to  Fort  Bartow, 
where  they  remained,  constituting  a  part  of  the  armament 
of  that  work,  until  upon  the  evacuation  of  Savannah  and 
its  dependent  forts  by  the  Confederate  forces  in  December, 
1864,  they  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Federal  army.* 

Sunbury  was  occupied  by  the  Kevolutionists  as  a  military 
post,  and  its  fort  garrisoned  at  a  very  early  period  in  the 
Colonial  struggle  for  independence. t  In  1776  when  Gen. 
Charles  Lee,  after  fuU  conference  with  the  venerable  Jona- 
than Bryan,  projected  a  plan  of  operations  against  St. 
Augustine  for  the  relief  of  the  southern  frontier  of  Geor- 
gia, which  had  been  constantly  and  sorely  vexed  by  raiding 
bands  from  Florida,  and  to  destroy  what  promised  to  be 

*  For  the  accompanying  plan  of  Fort  Morris,  I  am  indebted  to  a  recent  survey  made  at 
my  suggestion  by  Sam'l  L.  Fleming,  Esq.,  of  Liberty  County. 

t  The  following  orders  were  issued  by  Colonel  8.  Elbert,  for  the  fuller  instruction  of  the 
Artillerists  stationed  at  Sunbury  :  H 

H  See  MS.  Order  Book  of  Col.  Elbert. 

" Headquabteks  Savannah,  5th  Dec'r,  1777. 

"OKDEKS  TO  CAPTAIN  DEFATT  OF  THE  AKTTLLERY. 


"You  are  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  Town  of  Sunbury,  in  this  State,  where  are  a 
corps  of  Continental  Artillery  posted,  which  you  are  constantly  to  be  employed  in  teach- 
ing the  perfect  use  of  Artillery,  particularly  in  the  Field.  Both  Officers  and  Men  are 
hereby  strictly  ordered  to  attend  on  you  for  the  above  piirpose,  at  such  times,  and  in 
such  places  as  you  may  direct  ;  and  the  Commanding  Officer  of  the  Troops  in  that  place 
on  your  shewing  him  these  Orders,  will  furnish  Men  to  do  the  necessary  duty  in  the 
Town  k  Fort ;  so  that  there  will  be  nothing  to  prevent  Captain  Morris  and  his  Comi^any 
from  being  perfected  in  the  Business  for  whicih  they  were  raised.  Such  pieces  of  Artillery 
as  you  approve  of,  have  mounted  on  Field-Carriages  ;  and  for  this  purpose  you  are  em- 
powered to  employ  the  necessary  Workmen,  and  procure  Materials.  Your  drafts  on  me 
for  every  necessary  Expense,  accompanying  the  Vouchers,  will  be  duly  honored. 
"  I  am.  Sir,  your  most  Obdt  Servt, 

"S.  Elbert,  Col.  Commd'g." 


184  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  O^  GEORGIA. 

a  stronghold  for  the  English,  the  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina troops  who  were  in  the  expedition  were  ordered  to 
rendezvous  at  Sunbury.  It  being  the  sickly  season  of  the 
year,  and  the  men  being  unaccustomed  to  the  climate,  much 
suffering  was  encountered  from  fevers.  The  mortality  be- 
came so  great, — from  ten  to  fifteen  dying  in  a  single  day, — 
that  the  soldiers  were  removed  to  the  sea-islands  in  the 
vicinity  for  health."^ 

As  we  all  know,  through  the  failure  of  General  Lee  to 
concentrate  the  requisite  men  and  munitions,  the  contem- 
plated movement  from  which  so  much  was  anticipated  never 
took  place  ;  and  when,  on  the  20th  of  September,  he  went 
North  to  assume  the  command  to  which  he  had  been  ap- 
pointed, he  ordered  the  troops  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sun- 
bury  to  follow  him. 

This  project  was  renewed  by  General  Robert  Howe,  who 
advanced  as  far  as  Fort  Tonyn.  There,  however,  a  council 
of  war  decided  a  further  prosecution  of  the  enterprise  un- 
advisable.  The  sick  and  convalescent, — of  whom  there 
was  a  considerable  number, — in  gallies  and  such  boats  as 
could  be  procured  were,  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
C.  C.  Pinckney,  conducted  by  the  inland  passage  to  Sunbury 
where,  for  a  time,  they  were  allowed  to  rest  and  recruit. 
They  were  subsequently  transferred  to  Charleston  by  the 
way  of  Port  Royal. t  Colonel  John  Mcintosh  was  left  in 
command  of  Sunbury  with  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
men.  The  remnants  of  Elbert's  and  White's  regiments  pro- 
ceeded to  Savannah.!  So  far,  Sunbury  had  suffered  no 
molestation  at  the  hands  of  the  King's  forces. 

*  McCall's  Georgia,  vol.  ii.  p.  96.    Savannah,  1816. 

tSee  McCall's  Georgia,  vol.  ii,  p.  153.    Savannah,  1816. 

t  During  the  year  1777  American  privateers  were  busy  off  the  Georgia  coast  and  among 
the  inland  passages.  They  cruised  as  far  south  as  St.  Augustine  and  made  frequent 
captures.    In  his  communication  of  the  8th  of  October,  Sir  James  Wright  informs  Lord 


SUNBURY.  185 

Lord  George  Germain's  plan  for  the  Southern  campaign 
in  1778  was  prepared  with  "  minuteness  of  detail."  The  re- 
duction of  Savannah  was  resolved  upon.  As  a  diversion, 
and  with  a  view  to  distracting  the  attention  of  General 
Howe  and  the  American  forces  concentrated  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  then  capital  of  Georgia,  General  Augustine 
Prevost  was  ordered  to  dispatch  from  St.  Augustine  two 
expeditions,  one,  bj  sea,  to  operate  directly  against  Sun- 
bury,  and  the  other,  by  land,  to  march  through  and  har- 
rass  the  lower  portions  of  Georgia,  and,  at  Sunbury,  form 
a  junction  with  the   former. 

Responding  to  his  instructions,  that  officer  sent  by  water 
a  detachment  of  infantry  and  light  artillery  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Fuser  for  the  capture  of 
Sunbury.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Mark  Prevost  was  charged 
with  the  conduct  of  the  expedition  by  land.  He  took 
with  him  one  hundred  British  regulars.  At  Fort  Howe, 
on  the  Alatamaha,  he  was  joined  by  the  notorious  McGirth, 
with  three  hundred  refugees  and  Indians.  On  the  19th  of 
November  this  force  entered  the  Georgia  settlements,  tak- 
ing captive  all  men  found  on  their  plantations,  and  plun- 
dering the  inhabitants  of  every  article  of  value  capable 
of  transportation.  At  the  point  where  the  Savannah  and 
Darien  road  crosses  Bulltown  swamp,  Prevost  was  con- 
fronted by  Colonel  John  Baker,  who  had  hastily  collected 
some  mounted  militia  to  dispute  his  advance.  After  a 
short   skirmish   the   Americans   retreated.      Colonel   Baker, 

George  Germain  that  a  short  time  previous  a  privateer  from  Sunbury,  mounting  ten  guns, 
had  taken  five  prizes  ;  two  of  which  were  safely  carried  in.  He  urges  upon  the  Secretary 
of  War  the  expediency  of  stationing  a  twenty-gun  ship  or  a  frigate  at  Cockspur,  two 
sloops  of  war  in  the  Savannah  river,  and  one  at  Sunbury. t 

From  Sunbury,  on  the  Ist  of  May,  1777,  did  Col.  Elbert  embark  in  transports  his  troops 
destined  for  the  expedition  against  Florida  undertaken  at  the  instance  of  Governor 
Button  Gwinnett. 

t  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  lu,  pp.  246,  248.    Savannah,  1873. 
24 


186  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

Captain  Cooper,  and  William  Goulding  were  wounded.  At 
North  Newport  Bridge,  [afterwards  called  Riceborough 
Bridge,]  further  resistance  was  encountered  at  the  hands 
of  the  Patriots,  but  it  was  too  feeble  to  materially  retard 
the  progress  of  the  invading  forces.  Meanwhile,  Colonel 
John  White.*  having  concentrated  about  one  hundred 
Continentals  and  militia,  with  two  pieces  of  light  artillery, 
took  post  at  Midway  Meeting  House  and  constructed  a 
slight  breastwork  across  the  road  at  the  head  of  the  cause- 
way oyer  which  the  enemy  must  advance.  His  hope  was 
that  he  might  here  keep  Prevost  in  check  until  reinforce- 
ments could  arrive  from  Savannah.  An  express  was  sent 
to  Colonel  Elbert  to  advise  him  of  the  hostile  invasion, 
and  Major  William  Baker,  with  a  party  of  mounted  militia, 
was  detached  to  skirmish  with  the  enemy  and,  at  every 
possible  point,  interrupt  his  progress.  On  the  morning  of 
the  24th  Colonel  White  was  joined  by  General  Screven 
with  twenty  militiamen.  It  was  resolved  to  abandon  the 
present  and  occupy  a  new  position  a  mile  and  a  half  the 
other  side  of  Midway  Meeting  House  where  the  road  was 
skirted  by  a  thick  wood  in  which  it  was  thought  an  am- 
buscade might  be  advantageously  laid.  McGirth  being 
well  acquainted  with  the  country,  and  knowing  the  ground 
held  by  Colonel  White,  suggested  to  Prevost  the  expe- 
diency of  placing  a  party  in  ambush  at  the  very  point 
selected  by  the  Americans  for  a  similar  purpose.  It  was 
further  proposed,  by  an  attack  and  feigned  retreat,  to 
draw  Colonel  White  out  of  his  works  and  into  the  snare. 
The   contending  parties   arrived  upon   the   ground   almost 


*He  had  been  for  some  time  stationed  at  Sunbury,  and  commanded  not  only  the  Con- 
tinental troops  there  concentrated,  but  also  all  detached  companies  operating  to  the 
southward.  Captain  Morris'  artillery  company  constituted  the  permanent  garrison  of 
the  Fort. 


SUNBURY.  187 

simultaneously,  and  firing  immediately  commenced.  Early 
in  the  action  the  gallant  General  Screven,  renowned  for 
his  patriotism  and  beloved  for  his  virtues,  received  a  se- 
vere wound,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  was  by 
them  killed  while  a  prisoner  and  suffering  from  a  mortal 
hurt.  A  shot  from  one  of  the  field  pieces  passed  through 
the  neck  of  Prevost's  horse,  and  both  animal  and  rider 
fell.  Major  Koman,  commanding  the  artillery,  supposing 
that  the  British  commander  had  been  killed,  quickly  ad- 
vanced his  two  field  pieces  to  take  advantage  of  the  con- 
fusion which  ensued,  and  Major  James  Jackson,  thinking 
the  enemy  was  retreating,  shouted  victory.  Prevost  how- 
ever soon  appeared  remounted,  and  advanced  in  force. 
Finding  himself  overborne  by  numbers.  Colonel  White  re- 
treated upon  Midway  Meeting  House,  breaking  down  the 
bridges  across  the  swamp  as  he  retired,  and  keeping  out 
small  parties  to  annoy  the  enemy's  flanks.  Compelled  to 
withdraw  still  further,  and  desiring  by  strategem  to  retard 
the  advance  of  the  enemy,  Colonel  White  "prepared  a 
letter  as  though  it  had  been  written  to  himself  by  Colonel 
Elbert,  directing  him  to  retreat  in  order  to  draw  the  Brit- 
ish as  far  as  possible,  and  informing  him  that  a  large 
body  of  cavalry  had  crossed  over  Ogechee  river  with  or- 
ders to  gain  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  by  which  their  whole 
force  would  be  captured."  This  letter  was  so  dropped 
as  in  the  end  to  find  its  way  into  Colonel  Prevost's  hands, 
who  seems  to  have  considered  it  genuine.  It  is  believed 
that  it  exerted  much  influence  in  retarding  his  advance, 
which  was  pushed  not  more  than  six  or  seven  miles  be- 
yond Midway  Meeting  House  in  the  direction  of  Savan- 
nah. Meanwhile,  McGirth,  with  a  strong  party,  reconnoi- 
tering  in  the   direction  of   Sunbury,   ascertained  the   fact 


188  THE  DEAD  JOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

that  tlie  expedition  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Fuser  had 
not  arrived.  This  circumstance,  in  connection  with  the 
concentration  of  the  forces  of  Colonels  Elbert  and  White 
at  Ogeechee  ferry,  where  a  breastwork  was  thrown  up 
and  preparation  made  vigorously  to  dispute  his  further 
progress,  determined  Prevost  to  abandon  his  enterprise 
and  return  to  St.  Augustine.  Treating  the  population  as 
rebels  against  a  lawful  sovereign,  and  utterly  refusing  to 
stipulate  for  the  security  of  the  country,  Prevost,  upon 
his  retreat,  burnt  Midway  Meeting  House,  and  all  dwell- 
ings, negro-quarters,  rice-barns,  and  improvements  within 
reach.  The  entire  region  was  ruthlessly  plundered  ; — the 
track  of  his  retreating  army  being  marked  by  smoking 
ruins.  His  soldiers,  unrestrained,  indulged  in  indiscrimi- 
nate pillage,  appropriating  plate,  bedding,  wearing  apparel, 
and  everything  of  value  capable  of  easy  transportation. 
The  inhabitants  were  subjected  to  insult  and  indigaities. 
The  region  suffered  terribly,  and  the  patriotism  of  the  peo- 
ple was  sorely  tried.^  The  scene  was  such  as  was  subse- 
quently repeated  when  General  Augustine  Prevost  in  1779 
raided  through  the  richest  plantations  of  South  Carolina, t 

*  The  following  lines  descriptive  of  the  desolations  -wrought  by  this  invading  force,  are 
extracted  from  a  quaint  old-fashioned  poem  composed  by  John  Baker,  a  son  of  Colonel 
John  Baker,  and  found  among  the  MSS  of  the  latter  : 

"  Where'er  they  march,  the  buildings  burn, 
Large  stacks  of  rice  to  ashes  turn  : 
And  me  [Midway]  a  pile  of  ruin  made 
Before  their  hellish  malice  staid. 

"  Nor  did  their  boundless  fury  spare 
The  house  devote  to  God  and  prayer  : 
Brick,  coal,  and  ashes  shew  the  place 
Which  once  that  sacred  house  did  grace. 

"  The  churchyard,  too,  no  better  sped. 
The  rabble  so  against  the  dead 
Transported  were  with  direftil  fumes. 
They  tore  up  and  uncover'd  tombs." 
t  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  x,  p.  294.    Boston,  1874, 


SUNBURY.  189 

or  when  the  Federal  cavalry  under  General  Kilpatrick, 
in  the  winter  of  1864-1865,  over-ran,  occupied,  and  plun- 
dered Liberty  county,  converting  a  weU  ordered  and  abund- 
antly suppHed  region  into  an  abode  of  poverty,  lawless- 
ness,   and   desolation. 

Delayed  by  head  winds.  Colonel  Fuser  did  not  arrive 
in  front  of  Sunbury  until  Prevost  had  entered  upon  his 
retreat  and  was  beyond  the  reach  of  communication.  Late 
in  November,  1778,  his  vessels,  bearing  some  five  hundred 
men,  battering  cannon,  light  artillery,  and  mortars,  anchored 
off  the  Colonel's  island.  A  landing  was  effected  at  the  ship 
yard.  Thence,  the  land  forces  with  field  pieces,  moving 
by  the  main  road,  marched  upon  Sunbury.  'The  armed 
vessels  sailed  up  Midway  river  in  concert,  and  took  position 
in  front  of  the  fort  and  in  the  back  river  opposite  the  town, 
simultaneously  with  its  investment  on  the  land  side  by  the 
infantry  and  artillery.  Colonel  John  Mcintosh,  with  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  Continental  troops,  and  some 
militia  and  citizens  from  Sunbury, — numbering  less  than 
two  hundred  men  in  all, — held  Fort  Morris.  The  town 
was  otherwise  unprotected.  Having  completed  his  disposi- 
tions, Fuser  made  the  following  demand  upon  Colonel 
Mcintosh  for  the  surrender  of  the  fort : 

"  Sir, 

"  You  cannot  be  ignorant  that  four  armies  are  in 
motion  to  reduce  this  Province.  One  is  already  under  the 
guns  of  your  fort,  and  may  be  joined,  whfen  I  think  proper, 
by  Colonel  Prevost  who  is  now  at  the  Medway  meeting- 
house. The  resistance  you  can,  or  intend  to  make,  wiU 
only  bring  destruction  upon  this  country.  On  the  con- 
trary, if  you  will  deliver  me  the  fort  which  you  command, 
lay  down  your  arms  and  remain   neuter  until  the  fate  of 


190  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

America  is  determined,  you  shall,  as  well  as  all  of  the  in- 
habitants of  this  parish,  remain  in  peaceable  possession 
of  your  property.  Your  answer,  which  I  expect  in  an  hour's 
time,  will  determine  the  fate  of  this  country,  whether  it  is 
to  be  laid  in  ashes,  or  remain  as  above  proposed. 
"I  am  Sir, 

"  Your  most  obedient,  &c., 

"  L.  V.  FUSER, 
"  Colonel  60th  Regiment  and  Commander  of  his  Majesty's 
"Troops  in  Georgia,  on  his  Majesty's  Service." 

«P.  s. 

"Since  this  letter  was  closed,  some  of  your  people  have 
been  tiring  scattering  shot  about  the  line.  I  am  to  inform 
you,  that  if  a  stop  is  not  put  to  such  irregular  proceedings, 
I  shall  burn  a  house  for  every  shot  so  fired." 

To  this  demand  the  following  brave  response  was  prompt- 
ly returned  by  Col.  Mcintosh  :  * 

"  Fort  Morris,  Nov.  25,  1778. 

«  Sir, 

"  We  acknowledge  we  are  not  ignorant  that  your  army 
is  in  motion  to  endeavour  to  reduce  this  State.     We  believe 


*  Mr.  John  Couper,  in  a  letter  dated  St.  Simon's,  16th  April,  1842,  and  written  when  he 
was  eighty-throe  years  of  age,  gives  the  following  anecdote  of  the  famous  and  eccentric 
Captain  Rory  Mcintosh  who,  at  the  time,  had  attached  himself  in  a  volunteer  capacity  to 
the  infantry  company  commanded  by  Captain  Murray,  forming  part  of  the  4th  Battalion 
of  the  60th  Regiment.  Captain  Murray's  company  was  in  the  lines  which  Colonel  Fiiser 
had  developed  around  Sunbury  and  its  Fort.  "Early  one  morning,"  writes  Mr.  Couper, 
"  when  Rory  had  made  rather  free  with  the  'mountain  dew,'  he  insisted  on  sallying  out 
to  summons  the  fort  to  surrender.  His  friends  could  not  restrain  him,  so  out  he  strutted, 
claymore  in  hand,  followed  by  his  faithful  slave  Jim,  and  approached  the  fort,  roaring 
oiit,  '  Surrender,  you  miscreants  !  How  dare  you  presume  to  resist  his  Majesty's  arms  V  " 
Captain  Mcintosh  knew  him,  and,  seeing  his  situation,  forbid  any  one  tiring,  threw  open 
the  gate,  and  said  "  Walk  in,  Mr.  Mcintosh,  and  take  possession."  "No,"  said  Rory,  "1 
will  not  triiFt  myself  among  such  vermin  :  biit  1  order  you  to  surrendei."  A  rifle  was 
ftred,  the  ball  from  which  passed  through  his  face,  sideways,  under  his  eyes.  He  stum- 
bled and  fell  backwards,  but  immediately  recovered  and  retreated  backwards,  flourishiilrg 
his  sword.  Several  dropping  shots  followed.  Jim  called  out,  "  Run,  massa— de  kill  you." 
"  Run,  poor  slave,"  says  Rory.  "  Thou  mayest  run,  but  1  am  of  a  race  that  never  runs." 
In  rising  from  the  ground,  Jim  stated  to  me,  his  master,  first  putting  his  hand  to  one 
cheek,  looked  at  his  bloody  hand,  and  then  raising  it  to  the  other,  perceived  it  also 
covered  with  blood.    He  backed  safely  into  the  lines."  t 

t  White's  Historical  Collections  of  Georgia,  p.  472.    New  York,  1855. 


SUNBURY.  191 

it  entirely  chimerical  that  Colonel  Prevost  is  at  the  Meeting- 
House  :  but  should  it  be  so,  we  are  in  no  degree  appre- 
hensive of  danger  from  a  junction  of  his  army  with  yours. 
We  have  no  property  compared  with  the  object  we  con- 
tend for  that  we  value  a  rush  : — and  would  rather  perish 
in  a  vigorous  defence  than  accept  of  your  proposals.  We 
Sir,  are  fighting  the  battles  of  America,  and  therefore  dis- 
dain to  remain  neutral  till  its  fate  is  determined.  As  to 
surrendering  the  fort,  receive  this  laconic  reply :  Come  and 
TAKE  IT.*  Major  Lane,  whom  I  send  with  this  letter,  is 
directed  to  satisfy  you  with  respect  to  the  irregular,  loose 
firing  mentioned  on  the  back  of  your  letter. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be  Sir, 

"  Your  most  obedient  Servant, 

"John  McIntosh, 

"Colonel  of  Continental  Troops." 
In  delivering  this  reply  Major  Lane  informed  Colonel 
Fuser  that  the  irregular  firing  of  which  he  complained  was 
maintamed  to  prevent  the  English  troops  from  entering 
and  plundering  Sunbury.  With  regard  to  the  threat  that 
a  house  should  be  burned  for  every  shot  fired.  Major  Lane 
stated  that  if  Col.  Fuser  sanctioned  a  course  so  inhuman, 
and  so  totally  at  variance  with  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare, 
he  would  assure  him  that  Colonel  Mcintosh,  so  far  from 
being  intimidated  by  the  menace,  would  apply  the  torch  at 
his  end  of  the  town,  whenever  Colonel  Fuser  fired  the  town 
on  his  side,  "and  let  the  flames  meet  in  mutual  confla- 
gration."t 

"^The  Legislature  of  Georgia,  in  acknowledgment  of  the  conspicuous  gallantry  of 
Colonel  Mcintosh  on  this  occasion,  voted  him  a  sword  with  the  words  Come  and  take  it, 
engraven  thereon, 
t  See  White's  Historical  Collections  of  Georgia,  pp.  523,  524.    New  York,  1855. 
McCall's  Georgia,  vol.  ii,  pp.  155,  161.    Savannah.  1816. 
Moultrie's  Memoirs  of  the  American  Revolution,  &c.,  vol.  i,  p.  189.  New  York,  1802, 


192  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

Instead  of  assaulting,  Fuser  hesitated  and  awaited  a 
report  from  scouts  whom  he  had  sent  into  the  country  to 
ascertain  the  precise  movements  of  Prevost  and  learn  when 
his  junction  might  be  expected.  That  officer,  as  we  have 
seen,  unwilling,  after  the  affair  near  Midway  Meeting  House, 
to  hazard  an  engagement  with  the  Continental  forces  sup- 
posed to  be  advancing  from  the  Great  Ogeechee,  and  sur- 
prised at  the  non-appearance  of  Fuser  before  Sunbury, 
had  already  commenced  his  retreat  and  was  beyond  the 
reach  of  easy  communication.  Surprised  and  chagrined 
at  the  intelligence,  Fuser  raised  the  siege,  re-embarked  his 
troops,  and  returned  to  the  St.  Johns  river,  where  he  met 
the  returned  forces  of  Prevost.  Mutual  recriminations  en- 
sued between  these  officers,  each  charging  upon  the  other 
the  responsibility  of  the  failure  of  the  respective  expeditions. 
Kemembering  the  superior  forces  at  command,  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  either  singly  or  in  conjunction  Prevost  and 
Fuser  could  have  speedily  occupied  Sunbury  and  compelled 
a  surrender  of  Fort  Morris,  had  their  operations  been 
vigorously  pressed.  When  we  consider  the  paucity  of  Con- 
tinental troops  and  militia  offering  resistance  to  the  invading 
column  of  the  one,  and  the  slender  garrison  opposed  to 
the  investing  forces  of  the  other,  the  small  space  and  the 
short  time  to  be  overcome  in  accomplishing  a  junction,  and 
the  further  fact  that  they  both  must  have  been  aware  of  the 
near  approach  to  Savannah  of  Colonel  Campbell's  expedi- 
tion from  which  these  advances  from  Florida  were  distinctly 
intended  to  distract  the  attention  of  the  Revolutionists, 
we  cannot  but  be  surprised  that  Colonels  Fuser  and  Prevost 
should  thus  have  abandoned  their  enterprise  when  a  con- 
summation was  manifestly  within  easy  grasp.  Upon  his 
retreat   from   Sunbury   Colonel   Fuser    landed   his    British 


StJNBtJRTr.  193 

regulars  at  Frederica  with  instructions  to  repair  and  place 
in  good  defensive  condition  the  military  works  which  Gen- 
eral Oglethorpe  had  planned  and  erected  at  that  point. 

Having  collected  his  forces,  Gen.  Robert  Howe  marched 
to  Sunbury.  During  his  short  stay  there  he  did  little 
more  than  point  out  and  condemn  the  defenseless  con- 
dition of  the  works,  and  memorialize  Congress  upon  the 
dangers  which  threatened  the  Georgia  coast,  the  lack  of 
men  and  munitions  of  war,  and  the  disorganization  existing 
in  his  scattered  army.  He  was  one  of  those  unfortunate 
officers  who,  lacking  the  energy  and  the  ability  to  make 
the  most  of  the  resources  at  command,  and  harping  upon 
the  existence  of  defects  and  wants  which  inhered  in  the 
very  nature  of  things,  constantly  clamored  for  the  unat- 
tainable, indulged  in  frequent  complaints,  neglected  careful 
organization,  discipline  and  dispositions,  and,  on  important 
occasions,  became  involved  in  unnecessary  perplexities  and 
loss. 

Although  relieved  from  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  heavy 
shadows  rested  upon  the  inhabitants  of  St.  John's  parish.* 
Desolation  and  ruin  were  on  every  hand.  The  gathered 
crops  having  been  burnt,  many  were  without  sufficient 
means  of  subsistence,  and  not  a  few  were  compelled  to 
look   elsewhere   for   support.     These   tribulations,  however, 

*The  inhabitants  of  Sunbnry  seem,  at  times,  to  have  been  considerably  annoyed  by  the 
lawless  conduct  of  the  troops  quartered  in  their  midst.  So  marked  were  these  violations 
of  good  order,  that  General  Howe  on  the  16th  of  January,  1778,  deemed  it  proper  to  call 
attention  to  them  in  a  General  Order,  from  which  we  make  the  following  extract  : 

"  Complaints  have  been  made  to  the  General  that  some  of  the  Soldiers  have  injured  the 
Buildings  in  the  Town :  and  his  own  observation  convinces  him  that  these  complaints 
are  but  too  well  founded.  Actions  like  these  disgrace  an  army,  and  render  it  hateful. 
Any  Soldier  who  either  offers  Insult  or  does  Injury  to  the  Persons  or  Property  of  the 
Inhabitants  will  be  punished  in  the  severest  manner.  And  officers  of  every  degree  are 
injoined  to  exert  themselves  to  prevent  such  Enormities  for  the  future  if  possible,  or  to 
detect  those  who  may  commit  them,  that  they  may  receive  that  punishment  which  such 
Actions  so  richly  deserve.  Officers  of  Companies  are  to  take  particular  care  that  their 
men  are  made  acquainted  with  this  Order." 
25 


194  THE  DEA.D  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

were  but  an  earnest  of  sadder  ones  soon  to  follow, — trials 
so  grievous  that  patriotic  hearts  were  well-nigh  overborne 
at  thought  and  apprehension  of  distresses  almost  beyond 
human  endurance.  These  peoples, — the  first  of  the  Colony 
to  declare  for  freedom, — were  on  the  eve  of  passing  under 
a  yoke  far  more  oppressive  than  that  from  which  not  three 
years  before  they  had  sought  to  escape,  and  their  homes 
were  to  become  so  desolate  that  expatriation  would  be 
found  preferable  to  a  perplexing  residence  and  distressful 
life  in  the  region  where  they  had  garnered  up  present  pos- 
sessions and  future  hopes.^ 

The  year  1778  closed  gloomily  upon  the  patriots  in  Geor- 
gia. Its  capital  fell  before  the  advance  of  Colonel  Campbell. 
General  Howe's  army,  retiring  in  confusion  and  with  much 
•loss,  crossed  the  Savannah  river  at  Sister's  and  Zubly's 
ferries  and  rendezvoused  in  South  Carolina,  leaving  the 
newly  born  State  entirely  open  to  the  enemy.  While  at 
Cherokee  Hill,  on  his  retreat,  General  Howe  dispatched 
Lieutenant  Tennill  with  orders  to  Major  Joseph  Lane  com- 
manding at  Sunbury  to  evacuate  that  post,  and,  retiring 
up  the  south  side  of  Great  Ogeechee  river,  to  join  the  main 
army  at  Zubly's  ferry.      This  order  was  received  in   ample 

*If  we  may  credit  a  contemporary  writer,  the  population  of  the  Midway  settlement 
was  considerably  demoralized. 

"  Fields  once  her  [Midway's]  glory  and  her  pride. 
Weeds,  grass,  and  briars  now  do  hide. 
And  worst  of  villains  make  their  home 
Where  flames  had  happen'd  not  to  come. 

"Instead  of  preaching,  prayers,  and  praises, 
Now  on  the  Gospel  holy  days 
They  race,  and  fight,  and  swear  and  game. 
Without  regard  to  law  or  shame. 

"  They  arm'd,  disguis'd,  with  faces  blacked, 
Do  many  villainies  transact ; 
The  few,  few  honest  that  are  here, 
Do  often  rob  and  put  in  fear." 

MS.  Diary  of  Benj'n  Baker. 


SUNBURY.  195 

time,  if  promptly  obeyed,  to  have  ensured  the  salvation 
of  the  garrison ;  but  Major  Lane,  moved  by  the  persuasions 
of  Captain  Dollar, — commanding  a  company  of  artillery, — 
and  the  entreaties  of  the  citizens  of  Sunbury,  resolved  to 
disregard  the  instructions  of  his  General,  and  assumed  the 
responsibility  of  remaining  and  defending  the  fort  and 
town.*  The  account  of  th6  reduction  of  Fort  Morris  and 
the  fall  of  Sunbury  we  give  in  the  language  of  Captain 
McCall : 

"  On  the  first  notice  of  the  arrival  of  the  transports  [con- 
veying Colonel  Campbell's  command,]  off  the  coast  of  Geor- 
gia, General  Prevost  [then  in  Florida]  marched ;  and  em- 
barked in  boats,  two  thousand  men,  consisting  of  artillery, 
infantry,  loyalists,  and  Indians.  On  the  6th  of  January, 
[1779]  that  part  of  his  army  which  moved  by  water  was 
landed  on  Colonel's  island,  seven  miles  south  of  Sunbury, 
about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning;  and  Prevost  with  the 
light  infantry,  marched  and  took  possession  of  the  town 
early  on  the  ensuing  day.  Two  American  gallies  and  an 
armed  sloop  cannonaded  the  enemy,  but  with  little  effect. 
The  following  day  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  arrived. 
Every  exertion  was  made  to  prevent  the  landing  of  the 
cannon  and  mortars  near  the  town,  by  the  fire  from  the 
gallies  and  the  fort.  On  the  night  of  the  8th  they  took 
advantage  of  the  low  tide  to  pass  behind  a  marsh  islandf 
opposite  to  the  fort,  with  a  few  of  their  boats  containing 
cannon,  howitzers,  and  mortars,  and  landed  them  above 
the  town  and  placed  them  on  batteries  previously  prepared. 


*For  this  disobedience  of  orders  Major  Lane  was  subsequently  tried  by  a  Court  Martial 
and  dismissed  the  service. 

McCall's  Georgia,  vol.  n,  p.  177.    Savannah,  1816. 

tThis  island  lying  in  front  of  Sunbury,  divides  Midway  river  into  two  channels  known 
respectively  as  the  front  and  back  rivers. 


196  THE   DEAD   TOWNS   OF   GEORGIA. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  Prevost  summoned  the  fort  to 
surrender  unconditionally,  accompanied  by  a  statement  of 
his  force  and  the  weight  of  his  metal.  Major  Lane  replied 
that  his  duty,  inclination,  and  means  pointed  to  the  pro- 
priety of  defending  the  post  against  any  force  however 
superior  it  might  be.  The  British  batteries  of  cannon  and 
mortars  were  opened  on  the  fort  and  replied  to.  Lane 
soon  discovered  that  his  fortress  would  not  be  long  tenable, 
and  began  to  repent  his  disobedience  of  orders.  He  parlied 
to  obtain  better  terms  than  unconditional  surrender,  but 
no  other  would  be  allowed  him :  and  the  time  having  elapsed 
for  his  acceptance  or  refusal,  hostilities  recommenced.  He 
parlied  again  and  requested  until  eight  o'clock  the  next 
morning  to  consider  of  the  conditions  offered  to  him,  which 
being  peremptorily  refused,  he  assented  to  them  and  surren- 
dered the  fort  containing  twenty-four  pieces  of  artillery, 
ammunition,  and  provisions,  and  the  garrison  consisting  of 
seventeen  commissioned  officers  and  one  hundred  and 
ninety-five  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates,  including 
Continental  troops  and  militia.  The  American  loss  was 
one  Captain  and  three  privates  killed,  and  seven  wounded. 
The  British  loss  was  one  private  killed  and  three  wounded. 
"The  Washington  and  Bulloch  gallies  were  taken  to  Os- 
sabaw  island,  stranded  on  the  beach,  and  burned  by  their 
crews,  who  took  passage  on  board  of  Captain  Salter's 
sloop  and  sailed  for  Charleston,  but  were  captured  by  a 
British  tender  and  taken  to  Savannah.  Captain  John  Law- 
son,  of  the  sloop  Rebecca,  of  sixteen  guns,  put  to  sea 
and  got  safe  to  Charleston."* 


*McCall'8  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  n,  pp.  177,  179.    Savannah,  1816. 


General  Moultrie,*  then  at  Purysburg,  before  the  news  of  the  surrender  of  Sunbury  and 
its  fort  had  reached  him,  wrote  to  Colonel  Pinckney:  "I  fear  we  have  lost  Sunberry  and 
the  two  gallies  that  took  shelter  under  that  battery,  last  Thursday  or  Friday,  as  we  heard 


SUNBURY.  197 

After  the  fall  of  Sunbury  the  Continental  officers  cap- 
tured at  Savannah  were  sent  to  that  place  on  parole. 

"When  General  Prevost,  after  the  junction  of  his  forces 
with  those  under  Colonel  Campbell,  moved  from  the  coast 
into  the  interior  for  the  complete  subjugation  of  Georgia, 
the  command  of  Savannah  and  the  adjacent  country  was 
confided  to  Lieutenant  Colonel  Alexander  Innes.  Procla- 
mations of  the  most  stringent  character  were  issued  by 
him,  by  Colonel  Campbell,  and  by  Sir  Hyde  Parker.  The 
inhabitants  were  enjoined  to  collect  their  arms  and  accoutre- 
ments of  every  description,  and  surrender  them  to  the  mili- 
tary storekeeper.  Should  these  have  been  concealed  or 
buried,  as  was  not  infrequently  the  case,  they  were  to  be 
uncovered  and  brought  in  under  pain  of  rigid  search,  ex- 
posing the  delinquent  to  punishment  as  an  enemy  to  the 
King.  Special  places  were  designated  for  the  arrival  and 
departure  of  boats  and  trading  vessels  ;  and  permits  were 
required  from  the  superintendents  of  such  ports  for  the 
receipt  or  conveyance  of  property  of  any  description.  An 
infringement  of  these  regulations  worked  confiscation  of 
the  goods,  and  punishment  of  the  crews  engaged.  Peace, 
freedom,  and  protection  were  offered  to  all  who  would  at 
once  return  to  their  allegiance  and  join  the  Royal  standard. 
Three  months  were  allowed  for  the  incoming  of  the  dis- 
affected and  deserters,  and  Savannah  was  designated  as 
the  place  where  the  oath  of  allegiance  would  be  adminis- 
tered. The  proclamation  of  the  11th  of  January,  1779, 
was   even   more   onerous.     A  reward   of   two   guineas  was 


a  very  heavy  cannonade  from  that  quarter.  The  officer  commanding  had  about  120  Con- 
tinentals and  some  inhabitants  within  the  fort,— refused  to  evacuate  the  post  ;  notwith- 
standing his  receiving  positive  orders  for  that  purpose  he,  Don  Quixote-like,  thought  he 
was  strong  enough  to  withstand  the  whole  force  the  British  had  in  Georgia,  for  which,  I 
think,  he  deserved  to  be  hanged." 
*  Memoirs  of  the  American  Revolution,  &c.,  vol.  i,  p.  259.    New  York,  1802. 


198  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

offered  for  the  apprehension  of  every  citizen  still  adhering 
to  the  Eebel  cause,  and  ten  guineas  were  promised  upon 
the  surrender  of  a  Committee  or  Assembly  man  to  any 
commanding  officer  of  the  King's  garrisons.  Prices  were 
prescribed  for  all  articles  of  merchandise  and  country  pro- 
duce. Any  deviation  from  this  scale  of  prices  was  punished 
by  the  confiscation  of  the  articles  exposed  for  sale.  Only 
to  those  who  had  resumed  their  allegiance  to  the  Crown 
were  permits  to  trade  granted,  and  a  fine  of  one  hundred 
pounds  sterling  was  collectible  against  any  merchant  deal- 
ing with  one  not  an  acknowledged  and  loyal  subject  of 
the  King.  No  produce  could  be  ex:ported  except  under  a 
certificate  of  the  superintendent  of  the  port  that  it  was 
not  wanted  for  the  use  of  the  Koyal  troops.  To  the  fami- 
lies of  those  who  maintained  their  devotion  to  the  Rebel 
cause  no  mercy  was  shown.  Stripped  of  property, — their 
homes  rendered  desolate, — often  without  food  and  cloth- 
ing,— they  were  thrown  upon  the  charity  of  an  impoverished 
neighborhood.  The  entire  coast  region  of  Georgia  was 
now  open,  and  the  enemy  overran  and  exacted  the  most 
stringent  tribute.  Many  fled  from  St.  John's  parish  and 
from  Sunbury  upon  the  first  approach  of  Prevost. 

Writing  from  Purysburg  on  the  10th  of  January,  1779, 
to  Colonel  C.  C.  Pinckney,  General  Moultrie  mentions  the 
fact  that  thousands  of  poor  women,  children,  and  negroes 
were  fleeing  from  Georgia, — they  knew  not  whither  ; — "  sad 
spectacle  that  moved  the  hearts  of  his  soldiers."^ 

For  the  time  being  the  parish  of  St.  John  was  in  a  de- 
plorable condition.  Multitudes  of  the  inhabitants,  unable 
to  sustain  themselves  in  the  midst  of  the  utter  destitution 
which  there  prevailed,  set  out  for  Carolina,  where  they  sub- 

*  Memoirs  of  the  American  Revolution,  &c.,  vol.  i,  p.  259.    New  York,  1802. 


SUNBURY.  199 

sisted  upon  the  charity  of  others  until  the  opening  spring 
afforded  an  opportunity  for  planting  crops  in  their  new 
homes.  Others,  possessing  the  means  of  subsistence,  were 
so  oppressed  by  the  operation  of  Royal  proclamations  and 
restrictions,  that  they  abandoned  the  region,  seeking  refuge 
in  other  quarters.  Sunbury  suffered  a  material  diminution 
of  population,  and  never  recovered  from  the  shock  then 
experienced. 

Although  in  the  enemy's  possession,  and  paralyzed  by 
the  onerous  exactions  then  imposed,  Southern  Georgia  did 
not  wholly  cease  from  offering  resistance.  Colonels  Twiggs, 
Few,  and  Jones,  closely  watched  the  British  outposts,  cut- 
ting off  supplies,  and  harrassing  the  garrisons  whenever 
opportunity  occurred.  Along  the  sea-coast  were  found 
private  armed  vessels,  in  the  service  of  the  Revolutionists, 
engaged  in  the  removal  of  Rebel  property  in  the  interest 
of  the  owners,  and  in  capturing  craft  in  the  employ  of 
the  King. 

Ascertaining  that  some  British  officers  had  accepted  an 
invitation  from  Mr.  Thomas  Young  to  dine  with  him  at 
Belfast  on  the  4th  of  June,  1779,  Captain  Spencer,  com- 
manding an  American  privateer,  determined  to  surprise 
and  capture  the  party.  For  this  purpose,  proceeding  up 
Midway  river  in  the  evening,  he  landed  between  eight  and 
nine  o'clock  at  night,  and,  with  twelve  of  his  men,  enter- 
ing the  house,  made  Colonel  Cruger  and  the  English  offi- 
cers at  the  table  prisoners  of  war.  Intending  to  carry  off 
some  negroes.  Captain  Spencer  kept  his  prisoners  under 
guard  until  morning  when,  having  taken  their  paroles,  he 
permitted  them  to  return  to  Sunbury.  Colonel  Cruger  was 
soon  after  exchanged  for  Colonel  Mcintosh  who  had  been 
captured  at  Briar  Creek. 


200  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

On  the  28th  of  the  same  month  Major  Baker,  advancing 
toward  Sunbury,  attacked  and  defeated  a  company  of 
mounted  recruits  under  Captain  Goldsmith  at  the  White- 
house.  Several  of  the  enemy  were  killed  and  wounded. 
Among  the  former  was  Lieutenant  Gray,  whose  head  was 
almost  severed  from  his  body  by  a  sabre  cut  delivered 
by  Eobert  Sallett.  Major  Baker  entered  Sunbury  with- 
out opposition.* 

It  was  by  these,  and  kindred  partizan  exploits,  that  the 
British  troops  at  various  detached  posts  were  held  in 
partial  check,  and  the  drooping  spirits  of  the  oppressed 
inhabitants  from  time  to  time  revived. 

Upon  the  appearance  of  Count  D'Estaing's  fleet  off 
the  coast  of  Georgia,  General  Augustine  Prevost  concen- 
trated as  rapidly  as  he  could  within  the  lines  around  Sav- 
annah the  various  detachments  on  duty  in  the  vicinity. 
That  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Cruger,  at  Sunbury,  was 
ordered  in  and  reached  Savannah  on  the  10th  of  Septem- 
ber, just  two  days  prior  to  the  landing  of  the  French 
troops   at   Beaulieu. 

It  does  not  lie  within  the  compass  of  this  sketch  to 
recount  the  operations  of  the  allied  armies  under  Count 
D'Estaing  and  General  Lincoln  which  culminated  in  that 
bloody  and  disastrous  repulse  on  the  morning  of  the  9th 
of  October,  1779.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  Sunbury  had  her 
patriotic  representatives  among  the  troops  commanded  by 
General  Lachlan  Mcintosh,  both  during  the  progress  of  the 
siege  and  in  the  final  assault.  Two  of  them  at  least  attested 
with  their  lives  their  supreme  devotion  to  the  patriot 
cause : — Major  John  Jones  who  had  been  for  some  years  a 
resident   of    Sunbury,   and   who    was   at   the   time   an   aid 

*  McCall's  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  ii,  pp.  235,  237.    Savannah,  1816. 


I 


StJNBURY.  201 

to  General  Mcintosh ;  and  Charles  Price,  formerly  a  prac- 
tising Attorney  at  Sunbury,  and  a  young  gentleman  of 
promise  in  his  profession,* 

Upon  the  repulse  of  the  alhed  armies,  and  after  the  de- 
parture of  Count  D'Estaing,  and  the  retreat  of  General 
Lincoln  into  Carolina,  the  condition  of  the  sea-coast  of 
Georgia  was  more  pitiable  than  ever.  Exasperated  by  the 
formidable  demonstration,  and  rendered  more  arrogant  and 
exacting,  the  Loyalists  set  out  in  every  direction  upon 
missions  of  insult,  pillage,  and  inhumanity.  Plundering 
banditti  roved  about  unrestrained,  seizing  negi-oes,  stock, 
furniture,  wearing  apparel,  plate,  jewels,  and  anything  they 
coveted.  Children  were  severely  beaten  to  compel  a  revela- 
tion of  the  places  where  valuable  property  and  money  were 
concealed.  In  the  language  of  Captain  McCall,t  "  The 
militia  who  had  been  under  the  protection  of  the  British, 
not  allowing  themselves  to  doubt  of  the  success  of  the  allied 
forces,  cheerfully  participated  in  a  measure  which  promised 
the  recovery  of  the  State  to  the  union.  Future  protection 
was  not  to  be  expected,  and  nothing  remained  for  them 
but  the  halter  and  confiscation  from  the  British  or  exile 
for  themselves,  and  poverty  and  ill-treatment  by  an  insolent 
enemy  for  their  wives  and  children  who  were  ordered  forth- 
with to  depart  the  country  without  the  means  for  travelling 
or  any  other  means  but  a  reliance  on  charity  for  subsis- 
tence on  their  way. 

"  The  obscene  language  which  was  used,  and  personal  in- 
sults which  were  ofi:ered  to  the  tender  sex,  soon  rendered 
a  residence  in  the  country  'insupportable.  Having  neither 
funds  nor  means  of  conveyance  for  themselves  and  children, 

*MuCall'8  Georgia,  vol.  n,  pp.  270  and  271.    Savannah,  1816. 

White's  Historical  Collections  of  Georgia,  pp.  533,  537.     New  York,  1855. 
t  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  ii,  p.  283,  et  sec^.    Savannah,  1816. 
26 


202  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

they  were  obliged  to  abandon  the  country  under  the  most 
deplorable  circumstances  and  seek  a  dependent  residence 
in  the  adjoining  States  at  the  most  inclement  season  of 
the  year.  Numbers  whose  former  condition  enabled  them 
to  make  their  neighboring  visits  in  carriages,  were  obliged 
to  travel  on  foot ;  many  of  them  without  shoes,  through 
muddy  roads  and  deep  swamps." 

Prominent  among  these  raiding  Tories  was  the  renegade 
McGirth. 

Under  such  depressing  influences  some  portions  of  Lib- 
erty county  were  almost  depopulated.  Deprived  of  a 
support  from  the  back-country,  and  with  nothing  to  sus- 
tain commerce  from  abroad,  Sunbury  languished.  Its  de- 
cline, inaugurated  when  Prevost  and  Cruger  demonstra- 
ted the  insecurity  of  the  position,  and  confirmed  when  Ma- 
jor Lane  surrendered  Fort  Morris,  was  now  day  by  day 
accelerated.  All  who  could  possibly  get  away  fled  the 
place,  and  those  who  remained  led  lives  of  disquietude, 
and  penury.  In  the  face  of  these  difficulties,  however, 
Commodore  Oliver  Bowen,  Captains  Spencer,  Howell,  Max- 
well, Pray,  Hardy,  Lawson,  Stiles,  and  others  owning  pri- 
.  vate  armed  vessels,  made  frequent  voyages  along  the  coast, 
capturing  parties  who  were  engaged  in  collecting  provisions 
for  the  British  troops  in  Savannah  and  transporting  them 
through  the  inland  passages,  removing  the  property  of 
the  Whigs  from  the  down-trodden  districts,  and  occasion- 
ally executing  summary  vengeance  upon  the  crews  of  such 
craft  as  were  known  to  be  enployed  upon  missions  of  arson, 
robbery,  and  murder.  Sometimes  sharply  contested  naval 
engagements  occurred,  such  as  that  between  Captain  Brad- 
dock  with  his  two  American  gallies,  and  the  brigantine, 
Dunmore,  Captain  Caldeleugh,  mounting  twelve  guns.     The 


k 


SUNBURY.  203 


Dvinmore  had  sailed  from  Sunbury  for  Jamaica,  and  was 
attacked  so  soon  as  she  crossed  St.  Catharine  bar,  on  the 
18th  of  September,  1779. 

On  the  4th  of  June  of  this  year  Captain  Howell  entered 
the  inlet  of  Sunbury,  and  learned  from  a  negro  that  he 
had  been  sent  out  to  catch  fish  for  Mr.  Kitchins,  the  Col- 
lector of  the  port,  with  whom  a  party  of  British  ofiicers, 
both  civil  and  military,  were  to  dine  that  day, — it  being 
the  King's  birthday.  Although  Mr.  Kitchins'  house  was 
w  ithin  four  hundred  yards  of  the  fort, — now  no  longer  called 
fort  Morris,  but  named  by  its  captors  fort  Qeorge  in  honor 
of  his  majesty,  King  George  III, — presuming  that  the  as- 
sembled guests  on  this  festive  occasion  would  indulge  freely 
and  be  found  entirely  oif  their  guard.  Captain  HoweU  re- 
solved upon  their  capture.  Ascending  the  river  with  muifled 
oars,  and  under  cover  of  the  night,  the  Captain  with  twelve 
men  passed  the  fort  without  attracting  its  notice,  and,  land- 
ing at  Sunbury,  surrounded  the  house  about  eleven  o'clock 
ind  took  the  entire  party,  numbering  twelve  persons,  prison- 
ers. Among  the  captured  was  Colonel  Koger  Kelsall,  who 
had  insulted  and  ill-treated  Captain  Howell  while  he  was 
a  prisoner  of  war.  Incensed  at  the  recollection  of  these 
indignities.  Captain  HoweU  was  on  the  eve  of  taking  him 
out  and  drowning  him  in  the  river,  when  the  prayers  of 
the  lady  of  the  house  induced  him  to  spare  his  life.  Hav- 
ing exacted  from  his  captives  a  pledge  that  they  would 
not  again  take  up  arms  until  regularly  exchanged,  Cap- 
tain HoweU  returned,  without  loss  or  molestation,  to  his 
privateer. 

Upon  the  transfer  of  active  operations  to  the  Carolinas, 
Sunbury  seems  to  have  been  but  feebly  garrisoned  by  the 
enemy.     At  times,  and  for   a  considerable  portion  of   the 


204:  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEOKGIA. 

year  1780,  it  appears  doubtful  whether  any  British  force 
was  there  stationed.  The  Koyal  army  in  Georgia  was  then 
so  much  reduced  that  the  garrison  at  Savannah  did  not 
exceed  five  hundred  men.* 

The  truth  is,  the  available  forces  of  the  State  had  been 
so  largely  withdrawn  for  service  elsewhere,  the  entire  coast 
region  was  so  thoroughly  impoverished,  and  so  many  of  the 
Whig  families  had  moved  away,  that  there  was  scarcely 
any  necessity  for  maintaining  this  post  except  as  a  matter 
of  convenience  in  keeping  open  the  land  communication 
between  Savannah  and  St.  Augustine. 

In  this  exhausted  and  comparatively  quiet  condition  did 
matters  remain  until  the  close  of  the  war.  We  are  not 
aware  that  any  events  occurred  in  Sunbury,  during  the 
residue  of  the  struggle,  worthy  of  special  mention  or  cal- 
culated to  rouse  the  inhabitants  from  that  quietude  born 
of  want  and  oppression,  feebleness  and  present  despair. 

The  successes  of  General  Greene  in  Carolina  enabled  him 
to  inaugurate  such  measures  for  the  relief  of  Georgia  that, 
in  order  to  escape  from  the  advancing  and  investing  columns 
under  General  Wayne  and  Colonel  Jackson,  the  British 
garrison  embarked  on  the  11th  of  July,  1783,  and  Savannah, 
after  having  been  more  than  four  years  and  a  half  in  the 
possession  of  the  enemy,  was  formally  surrendered  to  the 
Patriots  who  had  already  virtually  achieved  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  thirteen  Confederated  States. 

Colonel  James  Jackson  was  designated  by  General  Wayne 
as  the  officer  to  receive  the  surrender  of  the  town ; — a 
comphment  well  merited  in  view  of  the  patriotism  and 
gallantry  which  had  distinguished    him   during   the   whole 

*See  letter  of  Sir  James  "Wright  to  Lord  George  Germain,  under  date  Savannah,  20th 
August,  1780. 
Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  ni,  p.  314.    Savannah,  1873. 


SUNBURY.  205 

war,  and  in  recognition  of  the  recent  active  and  hazardous 
service  performed  by  his  command  while  operating  in  ad- 
vance  of  the  army  of  occupation. 

Georgia's  losses,  particularly  along  her  south-eastern 
borders,  had  been  very  great.  Her  slave  population,  al- 
tliough  quiet  during  the  struggle,  was  essentially  demoraHzed 
and  reduced.  It  is  estimated  that  between  the  12th  and 
25th  of  July,  1783,  not  less  than  five  thousand  negroes  made 
their  escape  from  Savannah  in  sailing  vessels.  Upon  the 
cessation  of  hostilities  the  agricultural  and  commercial  in- 
terests of  the  State  were  in  a  most  disastrous  situation. 
Particularly  was  this  the  case  in  Liberty  county  where 
negroes  and  property  of  every  description  had  been,  from 
time  to  time  during  the  continuance  of  the  struggle,  carried 
off,  patriotic  citizens  driven  into  exile,  plantations  burned 
and  converted  into  waste  places,  and  the  seeds  of  poverty 
and  distress  sown  broadcast. 

On  the  first  Monday  in  August,  1783,  Governor  Martin 
convened  the  Legislature  in  Savannah.  Courts  of  Justice 
were  re-established,  commissioners  of  confiscated  estates 
appointed,  and  measures  adopted  for  the  rehabilitation  of 
the  State.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  assembling  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  on  the  first  Monday  in  January, 
1784,  when  Lyman  HaU  was  appointed  Governor,  George 
Walton,  Chief  Justice ;  Samuel  Stirk,  Attorney  General ; 
John  Milton,  Secretary  of  State ;  John  Martin,  Treasurer, 
and  Bichard  Call,  Surveyor  General,  that  the  machinery  of 
reconstruction  was  fully  set  in  motion. 

With  the  incoming  of  peace  many  who  had  been  absent 
in  the  army,  and  others  who  had  sought,  in  South  Caro- 
lina and  elsewhere,  temporary  refuge  from  the  devastations 
of  the  war,  returned   to   their   former   homes   in   Sunbury 


206  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

and  on  the  adjacent  plantations,  and  entered  with  becom- 
ing spirit  and  energy  upon  the  labor  of  rebuilding  and  re- 
peopling  the  desolated  region.  For  a  season  it  seemed  as 
if  the  prosperity  of  this  seaport  would  be  revived.  Not 
a  few  of  its  inhabitants,  however,  having,  during  the  con- 
tinuance of  hostilities,  formed  settlements  elsewhere,  de- 
termined to  remain  where  they  were,  and  so  the  ante  hel- 
ium population  was  by  no  means  regained.  Others  had 
died,  and  others  still  in  their  places  of  retreat  found 
themselves  so  impoverished  that  they  could  not  command 
the  means  requisite  for  a  removal. 

The  first  session  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Liberty  county 
was  held  at  Sunbury  on  the  18th  of  November,  1783, — 
their  Honors,  Chief  Justice  George  Walton,  and  Assist- 
ant Judge  Benjamin  Andrew,  Senior,  presiding.  On  the 
20th,  the  Grand  Jury  being  empanneled  and  sworn,  the 
Chief  Justice  delivered  a  charge  in  which, — having  alluded 
to  the  fact  that  good  order  and  subordination  had  every- 
where characterized  the  courts  presided  over  by  him  on 
this  his  first  riding  'since  the  close  of  the  war,  and  assur- 
ed them  that  nothing  could  so  much  contribute  to  con- 
firm the  blessings  of  peace  as  an  observance  of  the  laws 
which  had  for  their  sole  object  the  general  happiness  of 
the  people, — he  spoke  as  follows :  "  I  congratulate  you, 
gentlemen,  on  the  news  of  a  definitive  treaty  of  peace  by 
which  our  freedom,  sovereignty,  and  independence  are  se- 
cured. The  war  which  produced  it  was  one  of  necessity 
on  our  part.  That  we  were  enabled  to  prosecute  it  with 
firmness  and  perseverance  to  so  glorious  an  issue,  should 
be  ascribed  to  the  protecting  influence  of  the  Great  Dis- 
poser of  events,  and  be  a  subject  of  grateful  praise  and 
adoration.     While  the  result  of   the  contest  is  so   honour- 


SUNBURT.  207 

able  and  advantageous  to  us  and  to  posterity,  it  is  to  be 
lamented  that  those  moral  and  religious  duties  so  essential 
to  the  order  of  society  and  the  permanent  happiness  of 
mankind,  have  been  too  much  neglected.  To  recover  them 
into  practice,  the  life  and  conduct  of  every  good  man  should 
be  a  constant  example.  Your  temples,  which  the  profane 
instruments  of  a  tyrant  laid  in  ashes,  should  be  built 
again  :  for  nothing  tends  to  harmonize  the  rude  and  un- 
learned organs  of  man  more  than  frequent  meetings  in 
the  places  of  holy  worship.  Let  the  monument  of  your 
brave  and  virtuous  soldier  and  citizen,*  which  was  ordered 
by  Congress  to  his  memory,  be  erected  on  the  same 
ground,  that  his  virtues  and  the  cause  in  which  he  sacrificed 
his  life  may  be  seen  together  by  your  children  and  re- 
membered through  distant  ages.t 

"  In  the  course  of  the  conflict  with  an  enemy  whose  con- 
duct was  generally  marked  with  cruelty,  the  whole  State 
has  suffered  undoubtedly  more  than  any  in  the  Confed- 
eracy. The  citizens  of  Liberty  County,  with  others,  have 
drunk  deep  in  the  stream  of  distress.  Kemembering  these 
things,  we  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  value  of  the  prize 
we  have  obtained.  And  now  that  we  are  in  full  possession 
of  our  freedom,  we  should  all  unite  in  our  endeavours  to 
benefit  and  perpetuate  the  system,  that  we  may  always  be 
happy  at  home  and  forever  freed  from  the  insults  of  petty 
tyrants  commissioned  from  abroad."J 

The  grand  jurors  to  whom  this  charge  was  delivered, 
were  Joseph  Law,  William  Baker,  Senior,  James  Maxwell 
James    Jeffries,   John   Mitchell,  Junior,   Palmer    Goulding, 

*  Creneral  James  Screven,  who  fell  in  the  skirmish  near  Midway  Meeting  House, 
t  This  monument  has  never  been  reared.    The  obligation  is  as  binding  now  as  when 
thus  solemnly  recognized. 
t  Quoted  in  White's  Historical  Collections  of  Georgia,  p.  530.    New  York,  1855. 


208  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

John  Elliott,  John  Whitehead,  William  West,  Thomas 
Bra  dwell,  William  Peacock,  Senior,  Nathan  Taylor,  John 
Hardy,  William  Baker,  Junior,  Nathaniel  Saxton,  James 
Powell,  William  Way,  John  Myers,  Senior,  John  Way,  John 
Winn,  Edward  Way,  Joseph  Way,  and  William  Quarterman. 

By  an  act  approved  the  26th  of  February,  1784,  Sunbury 
was  designated  as  the  place  for  holding  the  Superior  and 
Inferior  Courts  of  Liberty  County.  They  were  there  held 
until,  by  the  act  of  1797,  Riceborough  was  made  the  county 
seat.* 

On  the  10th  of  February,  1787,  John  Baker,  John  Hardy, 
and  Alexander  Mclver  were,  by  the  Legislature,  appointed 
Commissioners  for  the  port  of  Sunbury,  and  were  invested 
with  powers  similar  to  those  conferred  in  and  by  the  law 
regulating  the  pilotage  of  Savannah. 

For  the  better  encouragement  of  trade,  the  Governor 
was  authorized  to  draw  on  the  treasurer  of  the  State  in 
favor  of  the  Commissioners  for  the  port  of  Sunbury  for 
£100.  The  act  further  appointed  a  harbor  and  tonnage 
master,  and  provided  for  the  collection  of  tonnage  duties, 
and  an  additional  sixpence  to  be  levied  and  set  apart  for 
erecting  lighthouses  and  supporting  pilots. 

Commerce  revived  to  a  considerable  extent,  but  the  trade 
of  Sunbury  did  not  reach  that  activity  or  volume  which 
existed  at  the  inception  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 

The  Indians  were  still  troublesome  on  occasions,  coming 
from  beyond  the  Alatamaha  in  predatory  bands  and  making 
short  but  sometimes  cruel  inroads  into  the  white  settlements 
On  the  24th  of  October,  1787,  a  man  was  scalped  within 
eighteen  miles  of  Sunbury,  and  on  the  9th  of  the  follow- 
ing January,  Rogers,  Queeling,  and  Bennett  were  killed  and 

*  See  Watkius'  Digest,  pp.  298,  618. 


simBURY.  209 

scalped  within  the  limits  of  the  Midway  settlement,  by  a 
party  of  Indians.  During  this  year  skirmishes  occurred 
with  the  Indians  at  PhinhoUoway  creek  and  at  Shepherd's 
plantation.  On  the  first  of  May  the  savages  attacked  Mr. 
Girardeau's  plantation,  carrying  off  some  of  his  negroes, 
and  wounding  a  young  man  named  Smallwood.  Seven  days 
afterwards  they  appeared  at  Colonel  Maybank's  plantation 
and  captured  a  number  of  his  slaves.  At  Sapelo  a  young 
man  was  killed  by  them  while  milking  his  cow.  On  the 
6tli  of  June,  on  the  plantation  of  John  Houstoun,  Esq., 
McCormick  was  killed  by  the  Indians,  his  son  scalped,  and 
three  of  his  daughters  and  a  little  boy  carried  into  captivity. 
In  September,  thirteen  negroes  were  stolen  by  them  from 
Mr.  Quarterman's  plantation.  Captain  Sumner  and  Liputen- 
nant  Burnley  pursued  and  overtook  them  in  a  swamp  on 
Taylor's  creek.  The  Indians  fled  and  the  negroes  were 
recovered.* 

The  militia  of  the  county  was  constantly  on  duty  to  repel 
these  incursions,  and  the  citizens  generally  went  armed  to 
church  to  guard  against  surprises.  To  assist  the  militia, 
the  inhabitants  of  Liberty  County,  at  their  own  charge, 
placed  and  maintained  in  service  for  three  months  "  a  com- 
pany of  Horsemen"  under  the  command  of  Captain  Elijah 
Lewis.  This  troop  acted  as  scouts.  In  September,  1788, 
a  "Body  of  Light  Horse," — consisting  of  a  captain,  two 
lieutenants,  two  sergeants,  and  forty  privates, — was  raised 
for  the  defense  of  the  county,  and  supported  by  the  volun- 
tary subscriptions  of  the  inhabitants.  It  was  compaanded 
by  Captain  Rudolph,  and  subsequently  by  Lieutenant 
Whitehead.  This  company  was  paid  off  and  disbanded 
at  Newport  Bridge  [afterwards  called  RiceboroughJ  on  the 

*  See  White's  Historical  Collections  of  Georgia,  p.  528.    New  York,  1855. 
27 


210  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

28th  of  March,  1789  : — six  privates  and  one  sergeant  being 
retained  in  service  to  act  as  scouts.* 

In  these  matters  of  home  defense,  and  in  the  subsequent 
miHtary  service  which,  rendered  necessary  in  1793,  was 
continued  until,  by  the  treaty  of  Colerain,  a  peace  was  con- 
cluded with  the  Indians,  the  citizens  of  Sunbury  bore  their 
fuU  part. 

On  the  8th  of  December,  1791,  an  act  was  adopted  en- 
titled "  An  act  for  the  better  regulating  of  the  town  of  Sun- 
bury."t  Until  its  passage  no  legislative  provision  had  been 
made  for  the  incorporation  or  government  of  this  town, 
then  in  the  thirty-third  year  of  its  existence. 

The  general  provisions  of  that  act  were  as  follows  :  On 
the  second  Monday  in  January  next  ensuing,  and  on  the 
second  Monday  in  January  in  every  third  year  thereafter, 
all  proprietors  of  lots  or  houses  in  the  town  of  Sunbury, 
of  full  age,  were  required  to  meet  at  the  place  of  holding 
the  courts  in  said  town  and,  under  the  direction  of  two  or 
more  justices  of  the  peace  for  the  county  of  Liberty,  pro- 
ceed to  ballot  for  five  persons, — each  of  whom  should  be 
the  proprietor  of  a  house  or  lot  in  Sunbury,  and  an  in- 
habitant thereof,  and  of  full  age, — who  should  be  styled 
"Commissioners  of  the  Town  of  Sunbury." 

On  the  Monday  next  following  such  election  it  was  made 
the  'dtity  of  these  Commissioners,  or  a  majority  of  them, 
to  assemble  and  appoint  a  clerk  and  such  other  officers 
as  they  might  regard  as  proper  and  necessary  for  the  ex- 
ecution  of   the  provisions  of  the  act. 

Full  power   was  lodged   with    these    Commissioners    to 


*8ee  Historical  Address  before  the  Liberty  Independent  Troop  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles 
Colcock  Jones,  pp.  10,  11.    Savannah,  1856. 
tSee  Watkins'  Digest,  p.  431, 

Marbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  pp.  128,  129. 


SUNBURT.  211 

make  such  by-laws  and  regulations,  and  impose  such  pains, 
penalties,  and  forfeitures  as  they  might  deem  conducive 
to  the  good  order  and  government  of  the  town,  provided 
the  same  were  not  repugnant  to  the  constitution  and  laws 
of  the  State,  and  did  not  extend  to  life  or  member. 

By  the  third  section  the  Commissioners,  or  a  majority 
of  them,  were  required  "yearly  and  every  year  to  make, 
lay,  and  assess  a  rate  or  assessment  upon  all  and  every 
person  or  persons  who  do  or  shall  inhabit,  hold,  use, 
occupy,  possess,  or  enjoy  any  lot,  ground,  house,  building, 
tenement,  or  hereditament  within  the  limits  of  the  town 
of  Sunbury,  for  raising  such  sum  or  sums  of  money  as  the 
said  Commissioners  or  a  majority  of  them  shall  judge  neces- 
sary for  and  towards  carrying  this  act  into  execution :  and 
in  case  of  a  refusal  or  neglect  to  pay  such  rate  or  assess- 
ment, the  same  shall  be  levied  and  recovered  by  warrant 
of  distress  and  sale  of  the  offender's  goods,  under  the 
hands  and  seals  of  the  said  Commissioners  or  a  majority 
of  them,  or  under  the  hand  and  seal  of  any  justice  of  the 
peace  for  the  County  of  Liberty." 

The  concluding  section  appointed  such  Commissioners 
superintendents  of  pilotage  for  the  port  of  Sunbury,  and 
invested  them  with  the  power  and  authority  of  Justices 
"so  far  as  to  keep  the  peace  and  preserve  good  order  in 
the  said  town." 

By  the  act  of  December  12th,  1804,*  it  was  provided 
that  the  election  of  Commissioners  should  occur  annually 
on  the  first  Monday  of  August,  and  be  held  in  the  Sunbury 
Academy. 

The  Justices  of  the  Peace  of  Liberty  County  having 
"neglected  to  hold  an  election  for  Commissioners  for  the 

f  Clftyton's  Digest,  p.  213, 


212  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

town  of  Sunbnrj,  to  the  great  injury  of  said  town,"  the 
Legislature  on  the  2d  of  December,  1805,*  directed  the 
Justices  of  the  Inferior  Court  of  Liberty  County  "to  call 
an  election  for  that  purpose,  giving  ten  days  notice  of  the 
same  at  the  most  public  place  in  the  town." 

In  case  of  failure,  at  any  time  thereafter,  to  elect  Com- 
missioners on  the  day  appointed,  it  was  made  the  duty  of 
the  Inferior  Court,  when  notified  of  the  fact,  to  advertise 
an  election. 

This  is  all  the  legislation  appearing  on  the  Statute  books 
with  reference  to  the  government  of  the  town  of  Sunbury. 
These  Commissioners  continued  to  hold  office  in  a  quiet 
way,^ooking  after  the  police  and  order  of  the  town, — until 
about  the  year  1825,  when  elections  went  by  default,  and 
such  of  th^  citizens  as  remained,  by  common  consent  man- 
aged their  premises  each  after  his  own  fashion,  having  the 
taller  weeds  in  the  streets  and  along  the  Bay  "  chopped 
down"  at  irregular  intervals,  and  permitting  the  cows  and 
the  Bermuda  grass  to  strive  for  the  mastery  in  the  lanes 
and  upon  the  common. 

In  1801  Sunbury  was  described  as  "  a  seaport  in  Liberty 
County,  favoured  with  a  safe  and  convenient  harbour,"  as 
being  "a  very  pleasant,  healthy  place,"  and  promising 
without  doubt  to  become  "a  port  of  commercial  conse- 
quence." "It  is  resorted  to,"  says  Sibbald,  "by  many 
persons  during  the  Summer  months;  it  has  an  Academy 
under  an  able  instructor,  "t 

The  most  famous  institution  of  learning  in  Southern 
Georgia,  for  many  years,  was  the  Sunbury  Academy.  It 
was  established  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  assented  to 


♦  Clayton's  Digest,  p.  243. 

t  "Notes  and  Observations  on  the  Pine  Lands  of  Georgia,"  &c.,  p.  65.    Augusta,  1801. 


SUNBURY.  213 

the  first  of  February,  1788.*  Abiel  Holmes,  James  Dun- 
wody,  John  Elliott,  Gideon  Dowse,  and  Peter  Winn  were 
nominated  in  the  act  as  Commissioners.  To  them,  or  a 
majority  of  them,  was  authority  given  to  sell  at  public 
sale,  and  upon  previous  notice  of  thirty  days  in  one  of  the 
gazettes  of  the  State,  any  confiscated  property  within  the 
county  of  Liberty  to  the  amount  of  £1,000.  This  sum, 
when  realized,  was  to  be  by  them  expended  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  building  suitable  for  the  purposes  of  the 
Academy.  Each  Commissioner  was  required  to  execute  a 
bond,  in  favor  of  the  Governor  of  Georgia,  in  the  penalty 
of  XI, 000,  conditioned  for  the  faithful  performance  of  the 
trust.  In  1803  the  number  of  Commissioners  was  increased 
to  seven,  but  two  years  afterwards  the  Legislature  directed 
a  return  to  the  original  number,  which  was  five.f 

As  late  as  December  4th,  1811,  the  Legislature  directed 
a  grant  and  conveyance  to  the  Commissioners  of  Sunbury 
Academy,  for  the  sole  use  and  benefit  of  that  institution, 
of  one-third  of  a  tract  of  land  adjoining  Sunbury,  known 
as  the  Distillery  Tract ;  the  same  having  been  confiscated 
as  the  estate  of  Roger  Kellsall,  and  being  then  the  prop- 
erty of  the  State. 

The  administration  of  the  afi'airs  of  this  academy  dur- 
ing the  long  course  of  its  valuable  existence  appears  at 
all  times  to  have  been  conducted  by  its  trustees  with 
prudence  and  skill.  Certain  it  is  that  until  the  marked 
decadence  of  Sunbury  this  institution  maintained  an  en- 
viable reputation,  and  attracted  scholars  in  no  inconsid- 
erable numbers  from  various  portions  of  the  State,  and 
even   from   sister  States.     The  teacher  whose  name  is  for 

*  Watkins'  Digest,  p.  380. 

t  Clayton's  Digest,  pp.  115,  246. 


214  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

the  longest  period  and  most  notably  associated  with  the 
management  of  this  Academy,  and  who  did  more  than  all 
others  to  establish  a  standard  of  scholarship  and  main- 
tain rules  of  study  and  discipline  unusual  in  that  period 
and  among  these  peoples,  was  the  Reverend  Dr.  William 
McWhir.  Great  was  the  obligation  conferred  upon  the 
youths  of  Southern  Georgia,  for  certainly  two  genera- 
tions, by  this  competent  instructor  and  rigid  disciplina- 
rian. A  native  of  Ireland,  a  graduate  of  Belfast  College, 
and  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  that  city,  he 
came  to  America  in  1783  and  settled  in  Alexandria,  Virginia. 
There,  for  ten  years  he  was  the  Principal  of  the  Academy  of 
which  General  Washington  was  a  trustee.  He  was  fre- 
quently a  guest  at  Mount  Vernon,  enjoying  the  hospitality 
of  that  noted  mansion.  On  one  occasion  while  he  was 
dining  with  the  family,  General  Washington,  as  his  custom 
was,  asked  the  usual  blessing.  Mrs.  Washington,  somewhat 
surprised  that  Mr.  McWhir  had  not  been  invited  to  do  this, 
remarked  to  General  Washington,  "  You  forgot  that  we  had 
a  clergyman  at  table  with  us  to-day."  "  No,  madam,"  he 
replied,  "I  did  not  forget.  I  desire  clergymen,  as  well  as 
all  others,  to  see  that  I  am  not  a  graceless  man." 

About  1793  he  removed  to  Sunbury  where  he  became 
the  Principal  of  the  Academy  and,  for  nearly  thirty  years, 
made  it  the  leading  institution  of  learning  in  this  entire 
region.  A  thorough  Greek.  Latin,  and  English  scholar,  an 
uncompromising  observer  of  prescribed  regulations,  and  a 
firm  believer  in  the  virtue  of  the  birch  as  freely  applied  in 
those  days  in  the  English  and  Irish  schools  in  which  he  had 
received  his  training,  he  was  a  terror  to  all  dolts  and  delin- 
quents. To  the  studious  and  the  ambitious,  he  always 
proved  himself  a  generous  instructor,  full  of  suggestion  and 


i 


SUNBITRY.  215 

encouragement.  The  higher  branches  of  mathematics  were 
also  taught ;  and,  as  a  preparatory  school,  this  institution, 
under  his  guidance,  had  no  superior  within  the  limits  of  the 
State.  The  average  attendance  was  about  seventy.  Pupils 
were  attracted  not  only  from  Liberty,  but  also  from  the 
adjacent  counties  of  Chatham,  Bryan,  Mcintosh,  and  Glynn. 
Some  came  from  even  greater  distances.  Two  generations 
sat  at  the  feet  of  this  venerable  preceptor.  Fathers  and 
sons  in  turn  responded  to  his  nod,  and  feared  his  frown. 
Although 

"  A  man  severe  he  was,  and  stern  to  view," 

SO  impartial  was  he  in  the  support  of  whatever  was  just 
and  of  good  report,  and  so  competent  and  thorough  as  a 
teacher,  that  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  his 
numerous  pupils  found  in  him,  above  all  others,  their 
mentor,  guide,  and  helper  in  the  thorny  paths  of  knowledge. 
Strongly  did  he  impress  his  character  and  influence  upon 
the  generations  in  which  he  lived,  and  his  name  and  acts  are 
even  now  well  remembered.  The  evening  of  his  days  was 
spent,  as  inclination  prompted,  at  the  residences  of  his  old 
scholars,  by  whom  a  cordial  welcome  was  always  extended. 
That  welcome  was  recognized  by  him  as  peculiarly  genuine 
and  agreeable  when  accompanied  by  a  generous  supply  of 
buttermilk  and  a  good  glass  of  wine.  The  latter  might  be 
dispensed  with :  a  failure  to  provide  the  former  was,  in  his 
eyes,  an  unpardonable  breach  of  hospitaHty,  and  materially 
impaired  the  comfort  of  his  sojourn,  and  the  tranquility  of 
the  venerable  guest. 

Among  the  other  teachers  at  this  Academy  may  be  men- 
tioned Mr.  James  E.  Morris,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lewis,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Shannon,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas  Goulding,  Uriah  Wil- 
cox, Rev.  Mr.  John  Boggs,  Captain  WiUiam  Hughes,  Mr. 


^16  THE  DEAD  TOWJJS   OF  GEORGIA. 

C.  G.  Lee,  Kev.  A.  T.  Holmes,  Kev.  S.  G.  Hillyer,  Major 
John  Winn,  Mr.  W.  T.  Feay,  and  Mr.  Oliver  W.  Stevens. 
The  building — a  large  two  story  and  a  half  double  wooden 
house,  about  sixty  feet  square  and  located  in  King's  Square, — 
was  pulled  down  and  sold  some  time  about  the  year  1842. 

As  early  as  1797  it  being  manifest  that  the  population  of 
the  town  was  steadily  decreasing,  and  that  its  commercial 
importance  could  not  be  reestablished,  it  was  resolved  by  a 
large  majority  of  the  citizens  of  Liberty  that  Sunbury, — the 
then  seat  of  justice, — was  inconveniently  situated  for  con- 
ducting the  public  business,  and  that  North  New  Port 
Bridge  was  the  most  eligible  location  for  the  Court  House 
and  Jail.  Matthew  McAllister,  Esq.  had  very  generously 
offered  to  convey  in  fee  simple,  for  public  uses,  a  piece 
of  ground  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet  in  length  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  width,  situated  near  "the  Bridge," 
without  "price  or  consideration  other  than  a  wish  on  his 
part  to  promote  the  growth  of  the  town  of  Riceborough 
and  benefit  the  inhabitants  thereof."  The  middle  and 
upper  portions  of  the  county  had  by  this  time  the  con- 
trolling vote  in  public  matters,  and  the  Legislature  was 
memorialized,  in  opposition  to  the  feebler  will  of  the  resi- 
dents of  Sunbury  and  its  vicinity,  to  authorize  a  removal 
of  the  seat  of  justice.  Accordingly,  on  the  1st  of  February, 
1797,  an  act  was  passed  appointing  Thomas  Stevens,  Daniel 
Stewart,  Peter  Winn,  Joel  Walker,  and  Henry  Wood,  Com- 
missioners to  superintend  the  admeasurement  of  the  land 
offered  by  Mr.  McAllister,  receive  the  titles  therefor,  and 
erect  thereon  and  keep  in  repair  a  Court  House  and  Jail  for 
the  County  of  Liberty.  The  act  further  provided  that  after 
its  passage  "  all  courts  and  elections  heretofore  held,  and  all 
public  business  heretofore  transacted  at  said  town  of  Sun- 


StJNBITRY.  217 

bury,  should  be  held  and  transacted  at  the  said  town  of 
Riceborough,"  to  which  place  the  County  offices  and  records 
were  to  be  removed.* 

Riceborough  was  a  more  convenient  point  for  shipping 
to  Savannah  the  rice,  cotton,  and  agricultural  products  of 
the  County,  and  was  much  more  central  for  the  facile  con- 
vocation of  the  citizens  and  the  transaction  of  public  busi- 
ness. Sunbury,  however,  still  remained  the  favorite  resort 
of  the  wealthier  planters  during  the  summer  months,  and 
maintained  a  permanent  population  of  perhaps  four  hun- 
dred. The  hurricane  of  1804,  with  its  wild  devastations, 
begat  a  sense  of  insecurity  in  the  minds  of  not  a  few  dwellers 
on  the  coast,  and  to  some  extent  diminished  the  population 
of  the  town.  Soon  afterwards,  Bermuda  grass  began  to 
overspread  the  bluff  and  cover,  with  its  deep  mat,  the 
streets  and  lanes.  With  its  importation  the  health  of  the 
place  became  sensibly  affected.  Chills  and  high  grades  of 
billions  fever  grew  frequent  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  fi'om 
time  to  time  removals  occurred  to  healthier  localities. 
Many  citizens  still  clung  to  their  old  homes  rendered  so 
pleasant  by  the  refreshing  sea-breezes  and  the  never-failing 
stores  of  the  waters  and  the  orchards,  and  Sunbury  for 
many  years  continued  to  be  the  abode  of  culture,  hospi- 
tality, and  ease.  Then  came  the  hurricane  of  1824  blowing 
down  out-houses,  bearing  away  fences,  bringing  in  the  sea 
in  great  masses,  and  carrying  fear  to  many,  and  even  death 
to  some  who  resided  at  exposed  points.  The  wild  indigo 
disappeared  more  rapidly  than  ever,  and  the  dark  Bermuda 
grass  asserted  its  dominion  on  every  hand.  From  the 
numerous  cattle  accustomed  to  feed  upon  its  common  and 
wander  through  its  streets  and  lanes,  and  from  the  refuse 

*  See  Watkins' Digest,  p.  618. 


^18  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OP  GEORGIA. 

of  the  town,  now  no  longer  new,  the  original  sandy  soil 
became  saturated  with  fertilizing  matter,  and  grew  rich. 
Thence,  under  the  heat  of  autumnal  suns,  year  by  year  rose 
exhalations  annually  more  and  more  prejudicial  to  health. 
Chills  and  fevers  were  more  frequent,  and  Sunbury  proved 
less  and  less  attractive  as  a  summer  resort.  In  1829  Sher- 
wood describes  the  town  as  having  "  a  flourishing  academy, 
a  house  of  worship  for  the  Baptists,  twenty  dwelling  houses, 
two  stores,  three  offices,  and  a  population  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty."* 

Ten  years  before,  the  Sunbury  Female  Asylum  had  been 
incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  Georgia. t  Supported  by 
the  generous  charities  of  kind  hearted  women,  it  never  en- 
joyed a  vigorous  existence,  and  after  some  years  suffered  a 
languishing  death. 

Although  by  resolutions  adopted  on  the  18th  of  November, 
1812,  and  the  12th  of  November,  1813,  the  Legislature  pro- 
vided for  stationing  troops  in  the  counties  of  Bryan,  Liberty, 
Mcintosh,  Glynn,  and  Camden,  for  the  protection  of  the 
sea-coast  of  Georgia,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  permanent 
detail  was  made  for  Sunbury.  The  fort,  however,  was  again 
placed  in  tolerable  condition,  the  planters  furnishing  the 
labor  requisite  for  cleaning  out  the  ditch,  strengthening 
the  parapet,  and  mounting  such  guns  as  there  remained  and 
were  deemed  trustworthy.  A  few  light  pieces  were  obtained 
from  Savannah  and  added  to  the  armament.  Such  gun- 
carriages  as  were  manufactured  in  the  county  were  made 
by  Jonathan  Goulding,  of  Taylor's  Creek.  Not  a  shot,  how- 
ever, was  fired  from  the  fort  during  the  war  of  1812-1815. 

Although  British  vessels    of    war  were  constantly  upon 


*  Gazetteer  of  the  State  of  Georgia.    Philadelphia,  1829. 
t  Lamar's  Digest,  p.  8i. 


SUNBURY.  219 

the  coast,  and  the  smoke  of  merchantmen  captured,  robbed, 
and  burnt  by  them  was  on  several  occasions  seen  from 
Sunbury,  the  enemy  never  ascended  Midway  river.  A 
company  composed  of  the  citizens  of  the  town  and  its 
vicinity,  numbering  some  forty  men  and  commanded  by  the 
honorable  John  A.  Cuthbert,  and  anotlier  company  con- 
sisting of  the  larger  boys  then  students  at  the  Sunbury 
Academy,  and  under  the  command  of  Captain  [afterwards 
Brigadier  General]  Charles  Floyd,  were  formed  for  local 
defense,  drilled  at  regular  intervals,  and  held  themselves 
in  readiness  to  act  as  occasion  might  require. 

Besides  these,  there  were  then  three  volunteer  companies 
in  Liberty  County  :  the  Liberty  Independent  Troop, — Cap- 
tain Joseph  Jones, — and  two  mfantry  companies,  com- 
manded respectively  by  Captains  Eobert  Quarterman  and 
John  Winn.  "The  Guards,"  under  Captain  Winn,  were 
at  one  time  stationed  at  Hardwick,  in  Bryan  County. 

After  his  defeat  at  Point  Peter,  Captain  Jones'  cavalry 
company  and  the  Rifle  company  of  Captain  Quarterman 
were  ordered  to  the  reUef  of  Major  Messias.  They  were 
for  some  time  on  duty  at  Darien. 

The  militia  of  the  County  being  well  organized  and 
eflficiently  officered,  was  largely  engaged  in  maintaining  a 
careful  watch  along  the  coast.  In  this  service  assistance 
was  rendered  by  barges  and  cutters  from  the  American 
Navy,  which  patrolled  Midway  river  and  the  adjacent  inlets, 
and  not  infrequently  established  their  headquarters  at 
Sunbury.  The  "  Committee  of  Safety  "  for  Liberty  County, 
during  the  war,  consisted  of  General  Daniel  Stewart,  Wil- 
liam Fleming,  John  Winn,  John  Stacy,  John  Elliott,  John 
Stevens,  and  Joseph  Law.  These  gentlemen  were  author- 
ized to  take  general  charge  of  the  local  defense,  and  to  call 


220  THE  DEAD   TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

upon  the  citizens  of  the  County  for  such  labor  as  appeared 
necessary.  In  case  of  a  refiisal  on  the  part  of  any  one  to 
respond  to  the  requisition,  they  were  instructed  to  advertise 
the  name  of  such  delinquent  in  the  most  frequented  places, 
that  he  might  be  held  up  to  public  contempt  "for  having 
disgraced  the  character  of  the  citizen  and  the  patriot." 

This  Committee  assured  General  C.  C.  Pinckney  of  their 
ability  and  willingness  to  repair  and  garrison  the  Fort  at 
Sunbury,  and  made  requisition  upon  him  for  two  18-pounder 
guns  and  a  suitable  supply  of  ammunition.  In  its  re- 
modeled condition,  the  fortification  at  Sunbury  received 
at  the  hands  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  a  new  name, — 
*'  Fort  Defence."  As  being  more  easily  defended,  and  re- 
quiring a  smaller  garrison,  General  Pinckney  suggested  the 
erection  of  a  tower  for  the  protection  of  Sunbury.  This 
project,  however,  was  never  consummated. 

The  last  vessel  of  any  moment,  which  visited  the  town, 
was  a  Swedish  brig  which,  in  1814,  came  in  and  conveyed 
away  a  load  of  cotton.  Mr.  James  Holmes  was  the  last 
Collector  of  the  port ;  and  for  many  years  prior  to  his  death 
the  ofiice  was  a  mere  sinecure.  Subsequently  a  Surveyor 
was  appointed  by  the  General  Government  whose  principal 
duty  was  to  sign  blank  reports  and  draw  his  quarterly 
salary.  The  last  person  who  held  this  office  was  the  genial 
Colonel  William  MaxweU. 

Until  1833,  the  Liberty  Independent  Troop, — the  oldest 
volunteer  military  organization  within  the  limits  of  Georgia 
except  the  Chatham  Artillery, — celebrated  the  fourth  of 
July  each  year  at  Sunbury.  This  company  was  then  the 
guest  of  the  town,  and  the  recipient  of  every  welcome 
and  hospitality.  .The  morning  was  spent  in  military  ex- 
ercises, in  contentions  at  the  head,  ring,  and  target,  and 


SUNBURY.  221 

the  afternoon  was  crowned  with  a  public  dinner  replete 
with  good  cheer  and  patriotic  speeches.  This  annual 
parade  was  the  event  of  the  year  in  that  quiet  community. 
On  such  occasions  the  U.  S.  Revenue  Cutters  stationed 
on  the  coast  would  generally  come  up  to  the  town  by  special 
invitation,  and  participate  in  the  festivities. 

The  summer  retreats  established  at  Jonesville,  Fleming- 
ton,  Hinesville,  and  Dorchester,  compassed  the  depopulation 
of  the  old  town.  Without  trade,  destitute  of  communica- 
tions, and  visited  more  and  more  each  season  with  fevers, 
Sunbury,  for  nearly  thirty  years,  has  ceased  to  exist  save 
in  name.  Its  squares,  lots,  streets,  and  lanes  have  been 
converted  into  a  corn  field.  Even  the  bricks  of  the  ancient 
chimneys  have  been  carted  away.  No  sails  whiten  the 
blue  waters  of  Midway  river  save  those  of  a  miserable  little 
craft  employed  by  its  owner  in  conveying  terrapins  to 
Savannah.  The  old  cemetery  is  so  overgrown  with  trees 
and  brambles  that  the  graves  of  the  dead  can  scarcely  be 
located  after  the  most  diligent  search.  Fort  Morris  is 
enveloped  in  a  wild  growth  of  cedars  and  myrtle.  Academy, 
churches,  market,  billiard  room,  wharves,  store-houses,  resi- 
dences, all  gone ;  only  the  bold  Bermuda  covered  bluff  and 
the  beautiful  river  with  the  green  island  slumbering  in  its 
embrace  to  remind  us  of  this  lost  town.  A  stranger  pausing 
here  would  find  no  trace  of  the  past  once  full  of  life  and 
importance,  but  now  existent  only  in  the  skeleton  memories 
which  redeem  place  and  name  from  that  oblivion  which 
sooner  or  later  is  the  common  lot  of  all  things  human.  The 
same  bold  bluff, — the  same  broad  expanse  of  marshes 
stretching  onward  to  the  confines  of  the  broad  Atlantic,. — 
the  same  blue  outlines  of  Colonel's  island  and  the  Bryan 
shore, — the  same  sea-washed  beach  of  St.  Catherine, — the 


222  THE  DEA.D  TOWNS   OF  GEOKGIA. 

same  green  island  dividing  the  river  as  it  ebbs  and  flows 
with  ever  restless  tide, — the  same  soft  sea-breezes, — the 
same  bright  skies, — the  same  sweet  voices  and  tranquil 
scene  which  nature  gave  and  still  perpetuates, — but  all  else 
how  changed !  Truly  "  oblivion  is  not  to  be  hired."  Blindly 
scattering  her  poppy  she  deals  with  places  as  with  men,  and 
they  become  as  though  they  had  not  been.  Strange  that 
a  town  of  such  repute,  and  within  the  confines  of  a  young 
and  prosperous  commonwealth,  should  have  so  utterly  faded 
from  the  face  of  the  earth ! 

"  The  garden  with  its  arbor — gone. 
And  gone  the  orchard  green  ; 
A  shattered  chimney  stands  alone. 
Possessor  of  the  scene." 

It  is  with  pleasurable  sadness  and  filial  reverence  that 
we  have  brought  together  these  fragmentary  memories  of 
a  place  once  the  abode  of  so  much  refinement,  intelligence, 
hospitality  and  patriotism, — the  home  of  Lyman  Hall  and 
Button  Gwinnett, — signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence,— of  John  Elliott  and  Alfred  Cuthbert, — United  States 
Senators  from  Georgia, — and  of  John  A.  Cuthbert,  mem- 
ber of  Congress, — the  birth-place  of  William  Law, — the 
accomplished  lawyer,  upright  judge,  and  courtly  gentle- 
man,— and  of  John  E.  Ward, — the  eloquent  advocate, 
speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  president  of  the 
Georgia  Senate,  and  United  States  Minister  to  China, — 
for  some  years  the  residence  of  Richard  Howley  and  Nathan 
Brownson,  Governors  of  Georgia, — claiming  intimate  asso- 
ciation with  the  Reverend  Moses  Allen,  Benjamin  Baker, 
Colonels  William  and  John  Baker,  General  Daniel  Stewart, 
Colonel  John  Mcintosh,  and  Major  John  Jones,  patriots 
all,  who  risked  fortune  and  life  in  support  of  the  primal 
struggle  for  independence, — the    scene   of  the   professional 


SUNBITRY.  223 

labors  of  Doctors  Dunwoody,  Alexander,  and  West, — and 
numbering  among  its  citizens  clergymen,  teachers,  physi- 
cians, lawyers,  merchants,  and  planters,  whose-  influence 
was  appreciated  in  their  day  and  generation,  and  whose 
names,  if  here  repeated,  would  challenge  respect  and 
veneration. 

Nature  survives,  but  nearly  all  the  rest  is  shadow.  In 
this  humid  soil  so  fecund  with  vegetation,  neglected  grave- 
stones,— covered  with  brambles  and  overturned  by  envious 
forest  trees, — "tell  truth  scarce  forty  years." 


V. 

HARDWICK, 


During  his  tour  of  inspection  in  1755,  Governor  Keynolds 
was  so  much  pleased  with  the  natural  advantages  of  the 
Great  Ogeechee  river,  that  he  selected  a  bluff  upon  its 
/  right  bank,  some  fourteen  miles  froni  the  sea,  as  a  loca- 
^  tion  for  a  new  town,  which,  in  honor  of  his  relative  the 
Lord  High  Chancellor  of  England,  he  named  Hardwick. 
In  his  letter  to  the  Board  of  Trade  he  says :  "  Hardwicke 
has  a  charming  situation,  the  winding  of  the  river  making 
it  a  peninsula ;  and  it  is  the  only  fit  place  for  the  capital.'"" 
There  are  many  objections  to  this  town  of  Savannah  being 
so,  besides  its  being  situated  at  the  extremity  of  the  prov- 
ince, the  shoalness  of  the  river,  and  the  great  height  of  the 
land,  which  is  very  inconvenient  in  the  loading  and  un- 
loading of  ships.  Many  lots  have  already  been  granted 
in  Hardwicke,  but  only  one  house  is  yet  built  there;  and 
as  the  province  is  unable  to  be  at  the  expence  of  erecting 
the  necessary  public  buildings,  and  the  annual  sum  of  £500 
allowed  for  erecting  and  repairing  public  works,  entertain- 


*To  Mr.  Q.  W.  J.  DeRenne  are  we  indebted  for  the  following  memoranda  from  H.  M. 
Public  Record  Office,  Georgia,  Vol.  3.5,  B.  T.,  touching  the  primal  settlement,  and  naming 
of  Hardwick : 

•'  May  13.  17.54.— The  Ne(!k  of  Land  called  the  Elbow  on  Great  Ogeechee  River— which 
(on  the  10th  Day  of  this  Month)  they  had  named  George-Town," 

"4  Feb.,  1755.— His  Excellency  was  pleased  (with  the  approbation  of  the  Board)  to  name 
the  Town  lately  laid  out  at  a  Place  commonly  called  the  Elbow  on  Great  Ogeechee  River, 
Hardwick." 

"  Minutes  of  the  Proceedings  of  Uie  Governor  in  Council." 


HARDWICg.  225 

ing  Indians,  and  other  incidental  expenses  being  insuffi- 
cient for  all  those  purposes,  I  am  in  hopes  your  Lordships 
will  think  proper  to  get  a  sufficient  sum  allowed  for  erect- 
ing a  Court-House,  an  Assembly-House,  a  Church,  and  a 
Prison  at  Hardwick;  which  will  be  such  an  encourage- 
ment to  private  people  to  build  there  as  will  soon  make  it 
fit  for  the  seat  of  government  to  the  universal  benefit  of 
the  province."* 

Upon  the  agitation  of  this  project  to  transfer  the  capi- 
tal of  the  colony  from  Savannah  to  the  Great  Ogeechee,t 
twenty-seven  lots  were  quickly  taken  up  in  the  town  of 
Hardmck,  and  twenty-one  thousand  acres  of  land  in  its 
vicinity  were  granted  to  various  parties  who  favored  and 
promised  to  develop  the  enterprize.  DeBrahm  proposed 
that  the  place  should  be  fortified  by  the  erection  of  three 
polygons,  six  hundred  feet  each,  and  three  detached 
bastions,  to  be  armed  with  twenty-five  cannon ;  and 
suggested  a  garrison  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.J 

The  Home  Government  neglecting  to  furnish  the  neces- 
sary funds,  and  Governor  Reynolds  being  without  the 
means  requisite  to  compass  the  contemplated  change,  his 
scheme  of  transferring  the  seat  of  government  to  Hard- 
wick was  never  consummated,  and  the  town,  deprived  of 
its  anticipated  dignity  and  importance,  developed  simply 
into  a  little  trading  village  adapted  to  the  convenience  of 

*  Board  of  Trade.    V.    167. 

Stevens'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  405,  406.    New  York,  1847. 

White's  Historical  Collections  of  Georgia,  p.  183.    New  York,  1855. 

tThis  river  was  then  called  the  Great  Hooohechie,  which  responds  more  nearly  to  its 
original  Indian  name  than  the  appellation  subsequently  adopted. 

t  See  Plans  and  Elevations  of  the  Forts  necessary  in  Georgia,  forwarded  with  Governor 
Reynolds'  letter  of  the  5th  of   January,  1756,  and  now  of   file  In  the  Public  Record 
Ofl&ce,  London;  Maps  B.  T.,  vol.  xiu.  No.  14. 
29 


226  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGU. 

the  few  who  there  located  and  cultivated  lands  in  the 
vicinity.! 

By  DeBrahm^  it  was  reckoned  among  the  five  sea-port 
towns  of  the  province.  Although  for  many  years  a  port 
of  entry,  its  commerce  was  wholly  domestic  and  coastwise, 
being  chiefly  confined  to  the  conveyance  of  the  products 
of  the  region,  in  small  vessels,  to  Savannah,  and  the  trans- 
portation, in  return,  of  such  articles  and  supphes  as  were 
needed  by  the  planters. 

By  the  act  of  the  15th  of  March,  1758,t  dividing  Geor- 
gia into  eight  parishes,  "  the  town  of  Hardwick  and 
district  of  Ogechee  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  Great 
Ogechee,  extending  north  west  up  the  said  river  as  far 
as  the  lower  Indian  trading  path  leading  from  Mount 
Pleasant,  and  southward  from  the  town  of  Hardwick 
as  far  as  the  swamp  of  James  Dunham,  including  the 
settlements  on  the  north  side  of  the  north  branches 
of    the   river   Midway,  with   the   islands   of    Ossabaw,  and 

IT  The  design  of  transferring  the  Capital  of  the  Colony  from  Savannah  to  Hardwick, 
conceived  by  Governor  Reynolds,  was  adhered  to  by  his  successor.  Governor  Ellis. 
"The  depth  of  water  in  the  river,  its  more  central  position,  its  greater  distance  from 
Charleston — the  proximity  to  which,  he  argued,  restricted  the  commerce  of  Savannah— 
the  convenience  of  its  harbour  as  a  naval  station,  and  the  fertility  of  its  adjacent  lands, 
were  the  principal  motives  which  operated  with  him  to  enforce  the  plan  suggested  by 
his  predecessor.  As  a  consequence  of  clinging  to  this  scheme  of  removal.  Governor 
Reynolds  had  neglected  repairing  the  public  buildings  of  Savannah,  and  its  inhabitants 
had  ceased  enlarging  and  beautifying  a  town  so  soon  to  be  deserted.  The  Filature 
was  out  of  repair,  the  Church  was  so  decayed  that  it  was  only  kept  from  falling  down 
by  surrounding  it  with  props,  and  the  prison  'was  shocking  to  humanity.' 

"  The  removal  of  the  Seat  of  Government  to  Hardwicke,  which  had  received  the 
favorable  notice  of  former  Governors,  was  discouraged  by  Sir  James  Wright,  who  argued 
that  if  the  object  of  a  removal  was  to  obtain  a  more  central  position,  Hardwicke  was 
too  near ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a  removal  there  would  be  very  disadvantageous 
to  the  present  capital  which  was  conveniently  settled  for  intercovirse  with  the  Indians 
and  for  trade  with  South  Carolina.  The  project  was  therefore  abandoned,  and  the 
attention  of  the  Assembly  was  directed  to  enlarging  and  strengthening  the  City  which 
Oglethorpe  had  founded." 

Stevens'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  p.  433.    Vol.  n,  p.  19. 


♦History  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  &c.,  p.  25.    Wormsloe,  1849. 
t  Marbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  p.  151. 


( 


HARDWICK.  227 

from  the  head  of  the  said  Dunham's  swamp  in  a  north 
west  Hne,"  were  declared  a  parish  by  the  name  of  St. 
Philip. 

In  1786*  regulations  were  prescribed  for  the  inspection 
of    Tobacco    at  a  warehouse  to  be  erected  at   Hardwick. 

By  an  Act,  assented  to  on  the  19th  of  December,  1793,t 
a  new  County  was  laid  off  from  Chatham,  and,  in  honor 
of  a  venerable  patriot, |  was  called   Bryan. 

The  legislature  which  passed  this  Act  constituted  John 
Wereat,  Robert  Holmes,  James  McGillivray,  WiUiam  Clark, 
Simmons  Maxwell,  Thomas  Collier,  and  Joseph  Stiles, 
Commissioners  for  the  town  and  commons  of  Hardwick, 
with  power,  upon  three  months'  notice  published  in  the 
Georgia  Gazette,  to  cause  a  survey  to  be  made,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  in  conformity  to  the  original  plan  of  the  place. 
This  survey  they  were  required  to  record  in  the  office  of 
the  Surveyor  of  Bryan  County ;  and  also  in  the  office  of 
the  Surveyor  General  of  the  State. § 

By  the  second  section  of  the  Act  these  Commissioners 
were  directed  to  sell  at  public  vendue,  to  the  highest 
bidder,  at  such  time  and  place  as  they  should  deem  best, 
and  after  published  notice  of  six  weeks  in  the  Georgia 
Gazette,  any  vacant  lots  in  the  town,  and  any  lots  which 
should  have  become  vested  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  reserving 
such  only  as  might  be  proper  for  public  uses.  The  proceeds 
arising  from  these  sales  were  to  be  primarily  appHed  to  the 
erection  of  a  Court  House  and  Jail ;  and,  if  any  balance  re- 
mained in  the  hands  of  the  Commissioners,  it  was  to  be  ex- 
pended in  building  an  Academy.     Within  three  months  after 

*  Watkin's  Digest,  p.  339. 
tMarbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  p.  167. 
t  Jonathan  Bryan. 

§  Careful  search  fails  to  disclose  a  map  of  this  survey  either  among  the  records  of 
Bryan  County,  or  in  the  State  Archives, 


22S  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

the  completion  of  such  sales  these  Commissioners  were  to 
make  full  return  to  the  State  Treasurer  of  the  number 
of  lots  sold,  the  price  which  each  brought,  and  of  the 
application  of  the  funds  realized. 

On  the  23rd  of  December,  1791,*  Hardwick  was  again 
designated,  by  special  legislative  enactment,  as  one  of  the 
points  in  Georgia  for  the  erection  of  a  public  ware-house, 
and  the  inspection  and  shipment  of  tobacco. 

Eight  years  afterwardst  the  Justices  of  the  Inferior 
Court  of  Bryan  County  were  authorized  to  lease,  from 
time  to  time,  and  for  a  term  not  exceeding  seven  years, 
the  common  of  Hardwick  and  the  glebe  lands  of  the 
County,  and  apply  the  rents  and  profits  therefrom  arising 
to  the  repair  and  improvement  of  the  County  roads  and 
bridges. 

Although  the  Act  of  1793  appointed  Commissioners  and 
provided  for  the  erection  of  a  County  Court  House  and 
Jail  at  Hardwick,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  contem- 
plated buildings  were  ever  constructed.  But  few  terms  of 
the  Superior  Court  were  held  at  this  place.  As  early  as 
1797  the  General  Assembly  of  Georgia^  authorized  the 
Justices  of  the  Inferior  Court  of  Bryan  County  to  make 
permanent  seat  of  the  public  buildings  "at  the  Cross- 
Eoads  about  two  miles  from  Ogechee  bridge,  or  at  any 
other  place  within  half  a  mile  of  the  said  Cross-Roads." 
For  this  purpose  they  were  empowered  to  purchase  land 
not  exceeding  two  acres  in  extent. 

There  the  public  business  was  transacted,  until,  in  1814, 
the  Legislature  §  was  induced  to  sanction  the  selection  of 

*  Marbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  pp.  544,  546. 
tideru.,  p.  160. 

t  Marbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  p.  174. 
§  Lamar's  Digest,  p.  'ill. 


HARDWICK.  229 

a  new  site  more  central  in  its  location  and  more  con- 
venient of  access  to  the  inhabitants  who  had  multiplied  in 
the  upper  portion  of  the  County.  Godhilf  Smith,  Henry 
Sherman,  James  Martin,  Zachariah  Wells,  and  Luke  Man 
were  designated  as  Commissioners  to  sell  the  old  lot  and 
buildings  at  the  cross-roads,  and  purchase  in  behalf  of 
the  County  a  parcel  of  ground  at  the  new  site  to  be 
chosen  at  or  near  Mansfield,  on  the  Canouchee  river,  and 
superintend  the  erection  thereon  of  new  public  buildings. 

Thus,  instead  of  becoming  the  Capital  of  Georgia,  Hard- 
wick  soon  ceased  to  be  even  the  County-town  of  Bryan 
County. 

In  Sibbald's  "Notes  and  Observations  on  the  Pine 
Lands  of  Georgia,"*  &c.,  written  in  1801,  we  find  the 
following  notice  of  this  village  :  "  Hard  wick,  situated  near 
the  mouth  of  Ogeechee  river  in  Bryan  County, — the  navi- 
gation being  good,  and  having  an  extensive  river  running 
through  a  fertile  country, — bids  fair  to  arrive  at  some  con- 
siderable degree  of  Importance."  This  promise  was  never 
fulfilled. 

From  the  best  information  we  can  obtain  we  are  per- 
suaded that  the  population  of  Hardwick  probably,  at  no 
time,  exceeded  one  hundred  souls.  In  1824  Mr.  Alexander 
NethercUft  was  the  only  resident ;  and  Sherwood,  in  his 
Gazetteer  of  the  State  of  Georgia  for  1829,t  speaks  of 
Hardwick  simply  as  "a  cluster  of  houses  in  Bryan." 
Among  those  who,  from  time  to  time,  were  inhabitants 
of  the  place,  may  be  mentioned  Mr.  Clark,  Dr.  Ward,  Mr. 
Mifiien,  Dr.  John  Jenkins,  Dr.  Anthony  Benezet,  Dr.  T.  J. 
Charlton,  Dr.  Louis  Turner,  and  Mr.  WilKam  Savage.     The 

*  Page  65.    Augusta,  1801. 
t  Page  116. 


230  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OP  GEOEGIA. 

commerce  of  Hard  wick  was  never  large,  and  was  con- 
ducted by  means  of  small  craft  plying  between  it  and  Sa- 
vannah. Sloops  and  schooners  sufficed,  with  occasional 
trips,  to  convey  to  a  market  the  agricultural  products  of 
the  neighborhood,  and  in  return  to  bring  back  plantation 
supplies. 

After  the  removal  of  the  public  buildings  from  the  Cross- 
Roads,  and  upon  the  completion  of  the  causeway  through 
the  swamp  and  of  the  bridge  over  the  Great  Ogeechee 
river, — thereby  establishing  immediate  and  convenient  com- 
munication by  land  with  Savannah, — the  trade  of  Hard- 
wick  declined,  and  its  small  stores, — abandoned  of  their 
keepers, — lapsed  into  decay. 

The  bluff  upon  which  the  town  was  located  rises  about 
fourteen  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Great  Ogeechee,  and 
is  distant  some  two  miles  from  Genesis'  Poiut,  to  which 
Fort  McAllister  gave  such  heroic  memories  during  the 
Confederate  struggle  for  independence.  In  front,  stretching 
to  the  north,  is  a  point  of  land  or  peninsula.  On  the  west 
the  fresh  waters  of  the  Great  Ogeechee  river  lave  the  Hard- 
wick  bluff,  and  then  treading  northward,  and  at  right 
angles  to  the  general  course  of  the  stream,  by  a  graceful 
bend  to  the  east  embrace  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
peninsula.  Again  turning  to  the  south,  the  river  reaches 
the  eastern  bluff  of  the  town,  where,  curving  gently,  it 
pursues  its  course,  emptying  through  Ossabaw  sound  into 
the  Atlantic  Ocean.  This  peninsula  in  front  of  the  town 
constitutes  a  dividing  line  between  the  fresh  and  brackish 
waters  of  the  river.  At  the  point  where  it  springs  from  the 
bluff  it  is  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  although  a 
journey  of  several  miles  is  requisite  to  complete  its  circuit 
by  water. 


HARDWICK.  231 

From  the  bluff,  backward  toward  the  south,  extends  a 
high  and  dry  plain  adapted  for  the  location  of  a  town.  The 
surroundings,  however,  were  unhealthy  during  the  Summer 
and  Fall  months,  and  there  was  nothing  to  encourage  popu- 
lation, or  ensure  the  continuance  and  prosperity  of  the 
settlement. 

In  1866  a  feeble  effort  was  made  to  revive  the  town  of 
Hardwick ;  and  the  Georgia  Legislature  on  the  21st  of 
March  of  that  year  passed  an  act  the  leading  provisions 
of  which  are  as  follows : 

After  reciting  the  fact  that  the  Commissioners  of  Hard- 
wick had  long  ago  departed  this  life,  that  the  site  of  the 
town  and  its  common  had  been  regranted  by  the  State  to 
private  individuals,  and  suggesting  the  advisability  that 
Hardwick  should  be  reestablished  for  the  better  advance- 
ment of  the  industrial  resources  of  the  State,  the  Act  ap- 
pointed Jacob  M.  Middleton,  Thomas  C.  Arnold,  William 
Patterson,  Henry  E.  Smith,  and  John  W.  Magill,  Commis- 
sioners, and  authorized  them  to  acquire  by  cession  or  pur- 
chase the  town  of  Hardwick  and  its  common  "not  to 
exceed  one  hundred .  and  fifty  acres  in  extent."  Having 
obtained  proper  titles  to  the  land,  these  Commissioners, 
or  a  majority  of  them,  were  directed  to  have  the  town  of 
Hardwick  surveyed  and  laid  out  into  lots  of  such  form 
and  dimensions  as  they  should  deem  fit.  Plans  of  the 
town  were  to  be  by  them  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk 
of  the  Superior  Court  of  Bryan  County,  and  in  the  office 
of  the  Surveyor  General  of  the  State. 

FuU  power  was  vested  in  them  to  sell  the  town  lots, 
except  such  as  they  might  determine  to  reserve  for  public 
uses.  Upon  completion  of  the  survey,  and  upon  filing 
plans  of  the  town  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of 


232  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OE  GEORGIA. 

the  Act,  the  Commissioners  were  authorized  to  select  one 
of  their'  number  as  an  Intendant.  Thereupon  they  were 
declared  incorporated  by  the  name  and  style  of  the  "  In- 
tendant and  Commissioners  of  the  town  of  Hardwicke," 
with  power  to  make  such  by-laws  and  regulations  for  its 
good  order  and  government  as  were  not  repugnant  to  the 
constitution  and  laws  of  Georgia,  and  of  the  United  States. 

Although  fortified  by  this  legislation,  no  action  was  taken 
by  the  Commissioners,  three  of  whom  are  now  dead. 

Hardwick  exists  only  in  name,  and  will  probably  never 
be  vitalized  into  a  municipal  entity. 


VI. 

PETERSBURG,  JACKSONBOROUGH,  FRANCISVILLE,  &a,  &C. 


Near  the  close  of  a  spring  day  in  1776  Mr.  William  Bar- 
tram,  who,  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Fothergill,  of  London, 
had  been  for  some  time  carefully  studying  the  flora  of  Car- 
olina, Georgia,  and  Florida,  forded  Broad  river  just  above 
its  confluence  with  the  Savannah,  and  became  the  guest  of 
the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  James.  This  fort, — which 
he  describes  as  "  a  four-square  stockade  with  saliant  bas- 
tions at  each  angle,  mounted  with  a  block-house,  where  are 
some  swivel  guns,  one  story  higher  than  the  curtains  which 
are  pierced  with  loop-holes,  breast-high,  and  defended  by 
small  arms," — was  situated  on  an  eminence  in  the  forks 
of  the  Savannah  and  Broad,  equidistant  from  those  rivers 
and  from  the  extreme  point  of  land  formed  by  their  union. 

Fort  Charlotta  was  located  about  a  mile  below  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Savannah. 

The  stockade  of  Fort  James  was  an  acre  in  extent. 
Within  this  enclosure  were  a  substantial  house  for  the 
commandant,  officers'  quarters,  and  barracks  for  the  gar- 
rison, consisting  of  fifty  rangers  well  mounted,  and  armed 
each  with  a  rifle,  two  dragoon  pistols,  a  hanger,  a  powder 
horn,  a  shot  pouch,  and  a  tomahawk.* 

For  a  distance  of  two  miles  the  peninsula  above  the  fort 
was  laid  out  for  a  town  called  Dartmouth  in  honor  of  the 
Earl  who  had  exerted  his  influence  in  procuring  from  the 

♦Travels  tliroagh  North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  &c.,  pp.  321,  322.    London,  1792. 


234  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OE  GEORGIA. 

King  a  grant  and  special  privileges  in  favor  of  the  Indian 
Trading  Company  of  Georgia.  For  the  defense  of  the  ter- 
ritory known  as  ihe  New  Purchase,  had  this  fort  been  erect- 
ed and  maintained. 

Dartmouth  never  realized  the  expectations  which,  in  its 
infancy,  had  been  formed  for  it.  After  a  short  and  feeble 
existence  it  gave  place  to  Petersburg  which,  during  the 
tobacco  culture  in  Georgia,  attracted  to  itself  a  consider- 
able population  and  was  regarded  as  a  place  of  no  little 
commercial  importance. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  early  settlers  of  Eastern- 
Middle  Georgia,  Dionysius  OHver  was,  on  the  3rd  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1786,  authorized  by  the  Legislature*  to  erect  a 
warehouse  on  his  land,  lying  in  the  fork  between  the  Sav- 
annah and  Broad  rivers,  for  the  inspection  and  storage  of 
tobacco.  With  the  location  of  this  warehouse  dates  the 
commencement  of  the  town  of  Petersburg. 

The  cultivation  of  tobacco  was  then  enlisting  the  atten- 
tion of  many  planters.  In  the  lower  counties  of  the  State 
the  production  of  silk  had  ceased  to  be  remunerative,  and 
the  tillage  and  manipulation  of  indigo  had  not  yielded  the 
profits  anticipated. 

Cotton  was  little  grown.  Many  of  the  early  inhabitants 
of  the  present  counties  of  Elbert,  Lincoln,  Wilkes,  and 
Oglethorpe,  came  from  Virginia  and  brought  with  them  not 
only  a  love  for  the  weed,  but  a  high  appreciation  of  tobacco 
as  an  article  of  prime  commercial  value.  The  virgin  lands 
of  this  region  were  found  well  adapted  to  its  cultivation : 
and,  as  a  consequence,  this  plant  grew  rapidly  into  general 
favor  and  proved  the  staple  commodity  or  market  crop  of 
the  farmers.      As  the  existing  laws  of    the  State  forbade 


♦Watkins'  Digest,  p.  325. 


PETERSBURG,  JACKSONBOROUGH,  FRANCISVILLE,  &C.  235 

its  exportation  without  previous  inspection  and  the  payment 
of  specified  fees,  it  became  necessary  to  establish  pubHc 
warehouses  at  convenient  points  where  the  inspection  and 
storage  of  this  article  could  be  had.  No  hogshead  or 
cask  of  tobacco  could  be  shipped  which  did  not  bear  the 
stamp  of  some  "lawful  inspector."*  These  inspectors  were 
required  to  give  bond  for  the  faithful  performance  of  their 
duties,  and  it  was  made  obligatory  upon  them  to  attend 
continuously  at  their  respective  warehouses  from  the  first 
of  October  to  the  first  of  August  in  each  year.  It  was 
their  duty  carefully  to  inspect,  weigh,  receipt  for,  and  stamp 
each  hogshead  delivered  at  the  warehouse.  The  hogshead 
or  cask  was  "not  to  exceed  forty-nine  inches  in  length, 
and  thirty-one  inches  in  the  raising  head."  Its  weight, 
when  packed,  was  to  be  not  less  than  nine  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  nett.  It  was  not  customary  in  those  primitive 
days  to  transport  these  hogsheads  upon  wagons.  Vehicles 
of  all  sorts  were  scarce.  The  hogshead  or  cask  being  made 
strong  and  tight,  and  having  been  stoutly  coopered,  was 
furnished  with  a  temporary  axle  and  shaft,  to  which  a  horse 
was  attached.  By  this  means  was  it  trimdled  to  market  or 
to  the  pubHc  warehouse.  Water  courses  also  were  freely 
taken  advantage  of  for  the  conveyance  of  tobacco.  The 
location  of  this  public  warehouse  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Broad  and  Savannah  rivers  proved  most  acceptable  to  the 
tillers  of  the  soil  in  this  rich  region,  and  speedily  attracted 
merchants  who,  there  fixing  their  homes,  became  purchasers 
of  the  tobacco  when  inspected,  and  in  return  sold  to  the 
planters  such  supplies  as  they  needed. 

Petersburg  soon  assumed  the  proportions  of  a  respectable 
village.     It  was  regularly  laid  off  in  town  lots,  with  conve- 

*  See  Watkins'  Digest,  p.  444. 


236  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

nient  streets  intersecting  each  other  at  right  angles.  The 
tobacco  warehouses  and  shops  were  located  as  near  the 
point  formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  as  the  nature 
of  the  ground  and  the  liability  to  overflow  would  permit. 
The  residences  were  situated  above,  and  occupied  lots,  each 
about  three  quarters  of  an  acre  in  extent. 

In  1797  William  Watkins  secured  from  the  Legislature* 
the  right  to  establish  upon  his  lots, — 35  and  37, — in  the 
town  of  Petersburg,  an  extensive  warehouse  for  the  inspec- 
tion and  storage  of  tobacco. 

By  an  actf  of  the  General  Assembly  assented  to  No- 
vember 26th,  1802,  eighteen  of  the  principal  citizens  of  the 
town  were  incorporated  into  a  society  "  under  the  name 
and  style  of  the  Petersburg  Union  Society."  The  avowed 
objects  of  this  association  were  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
and  the  alleviation  of  want.  It  maintained  an  active  ex- 
istence for  some  years  and  exerted  a  marked  influence  for 
good. 

On  the  first  of  .December,  1802,t  Eobert  Thompson,  Le- 
roy  Pope,  Richard  Easter,  Samuel  Watkins,  and  John 
Ragland  were  appointed  Commissioners  of  the  town  of 
Petersburg,  and  were  charged  with  its  "better  regulation 
and  government."  They  were  to  hold  ofiice  until  the  first 
Monday  in  January,  1804.  Then,  and  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  every  January  thereafter,  the  citizens  entitled  to 
vote  for  members  of  the  General  Assembly  were  required 
to  choose  by  ballot  five  persons  to  act  as  Commissioners 
of  the  town.  These  Commissioners  were  invested  "with 
full  power  and  authority  to  make  such  by-laws  and  regula- 
tions, and  to  inflict   or  impose  such  pains,  penalties,   and 

♦Watkins'  Digest,  p.  658. 
t  Clayton's  Digest,  p.  58. 
t  Clayton's  Digest,  p.  92. 


PETERSBUEG,  JACKSONBOROUGH,  FRANCISVILLE,  «feC.  237 

forfeitures  as  in  their  judgment  should  be  conducive  to 
the  good  order  and  government  of  the  said  town  of  Peters- 
burg :"  provided  such  bj-laws  and  regulations  were  not 
repugnant  to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  Georgia,  and 
that  the  pains  and  penalties  contemplated  did  not  extend 
to  life  or  member. 

•Two  years  afterwards  ^  the  powers  of  these  Commission- 
ers were  materially  enlarged,  and  they  were  directed  to 
have  a  correct  plat  of  the  town  and  commons  made  by  the 
County  Surveyor  and  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk 
of  the  Superior  Court  of  Elbert  County. 

Speaking  of  Petersburg,  in  1800,  Mr.  George  Sibbald 
says  :t  "  In  point  of  situation  and  commercial  consequence 
it  is  second  only  to  Augusta.  *  *  It  is  a  handsome, 
well  built  Town,  and  presents  to  the  view  of  the  astonished 
traveller,  a  Town  which  has  risen  out  of  the  Woods  in  a 
few  years  as  if  by  enchantment :  It  has  two  Warehouses 
for  the  Inspection  of  Tobacco." 

So  long  as  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  engrossed  the  atten- 
tion of  the  planters  in  the  circumjacent  region,  Petersburg 
continued  to  be  a  place  of  considerable  commercial  impor- 
tance. In  the  zenith  of  its  prosperity  it  contained  a  dis- 
tributing post-office,  a  market  place,  a  town-hall,  several 
churches,  and  not  less  than  forty  stores  andf  warehouses. 
Its  population  then  has  been  estimated  at  between  seven 
and  eight  hundred  souls.  During  the  early  part  of  the 
present  century  its  trade  was  greater  than  that  of  Augusta. 
It  is  claimed  that  goods  of  a  superior  quality  were  then 
there  sold,  and  in  greater  quantities,  and  at  cheaper  rates. 
A  large  and  lucrative  business  was  transacted  by  the  Peters- 


*  Clayton's  Digest,  p.  182. 

t "  Notes  and  Observations  on  the  Pine  Lands  of  Georgia,"  kc,  pp.  62,  63.     Augusta, 
1801. 


238  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

burg  boats,  which,  along  the  line  of  the  Savannah  river, 
constituted  the  favorite  common  carriers  of  passengers  and 
goods.  The  existence  of  the  town  was  due  to  the  concen- 
tration at  this  point  of  the  tobacco  crop  of  a  considerable 
area.  The  necessity  for  a  rigid  inspection  of  this  product 
forced  the  planters  to  bring  it  here.  With  Petersburg  the 
presence  of  this  plant  was  emphatically  the  cause  of  popu- 
lation and  the  parent  of  trade.  After  inspection,  most  of 
it  was  purchased  on  the  spot  by  merchants  and  speculators, 
who,  from  their  full  stores,  supplied  every  need  of  the  pro- 
ducers. Thence  was  it  shipped  to  Augusta  and  Savannah. 
So  soon,  however,  as  the  cotton  plant  began  to  assert  its 
ascendency,  the  fortunes  of  the  town  commenced  to  wane. 
Eequiring  no  inspection,  and  capable  of  easy  shipment  from 
any  convenient  point,  the  cotton  bales  were  sent  to  various 
bluffs  along  the  river  for  transmission  to  the  coast ;  and  thus 
it  came  to  pass  that  with  the  discontinuance  of  the  tobacco 
culture  Petersburg  dwindled  away  and  died.  Sickness,  and 
the  attractions  of  new  and  fertile  fields  in  Alabama  hast- 
ened its  ruin  : — and  now  sunken  wells  and  the  mounds  of 
fallen  chimneys  are  all  that  attest  the  former  existence  of 
the  town.  Its  corporate  limits  are  wholly  included  within 
the  confines  of  one  well-ordered  plantation ;  and  extensive 
fields  of  corn  ^nd  cotton  have  obHterated  all  traces  of  ware- 
house, shop,  town-hall,  church,  and  dwelling. 

Beneath  the  conserving  shadows  of  tall  trees  which  mark 
the  outlines  of  the  old  cemetery  on  the  left  bank  of  Broad 
river  may  still  be  seen  numerous  graves,  fresh  and  green 
when  the  town  was  replete  with  life,  but  neglected  and  over- 
grown with  brambles  now  that  the  village  too  is  dead. 


PETERSBURG,  JACKSONBOROXJGH,  FRANCISVILLE,  &C.  230 

A  few  sleepy  houses  mark  the  spot  where  Lisbon,^  with 
envious  eye,  in  former  years  viewed  across  Broad  river  the 
rising  fortunes  of  Petersburg ;  and,  beyond  the  Savannah, 
narrowly  scanned  the  efforts  made  by  Vienna  to  participate 
in  the  lucrative  tobacco  trade. 


I 


Federal-Town,  in  Washington  County,  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Oconee,  was  another  of  these  Tobacco  villages.  It 
perished  so  soon  as  the  cultivation  of  cotton  became  general 
in  the  region,  and  its  fort  was  no  longer  required  as  a  pro- 
tection against  the  incursions  of  the  Creeks. 


Deprived  of  the  vitalizing  influence  of  the  tobacco  trade, 
Harrisburgh,  Edinborough,  and  other  small  towns  desig- 
nated as  sites  for  the  inspection  of  this  crop,  speedily  lapsed 
into  disuse  and  decay. 

Not  infrequently  a  change  in  the  location  of  public  build- 
ings dealt  a  death-blow  to  villages  of  moderate  size  and 
feeble  support.  Take,  for  example,  the  old  town  of  Jack- 
SONBOROUGH,  confirmed  as  the  county  seat  of  Screven  county 
on  the  15th  of  February,  1799.t  As  late  as  the  20th  of 
December,  1823,  an  act  t  of  the  Legislature,  passed  for  its 
incorporation,  designated  the  Court  House  as  the  centre 
of  the  town,  and  extended  the  corporate  limits  a  half  mile 
in  every  direction.  Five  years  afterwards  the  "Jackson- 
borough  Methodist  Episcopal  Church"  was  incorporated.§ 
The  business  of  the  county  was,  for  some  forty  years  and 
more,  mainly  transacted  at  this  place.     Here,  too,  for  soma 

*  The  original  name  of  this  village  was  the  Torvn  of  Lincoln.    See  Sibbald's  "  Notes  and 
Observations  on  the  Pine  Lands  of  Georgia,"  &c.,  p.  63.    Augusta,  1801. 
t  Marbury  and  Crawford's  Digest,  p.  177. 
t  Dawson's  Digest,  p.  450. 
§  Dawson's  Digest,  p.  109. 


240  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OP  GEORGIA. 

time,  resided  Mr.  Jolin  Abbot,  whose  work  upon  the  Lep- 
idopterous  Insects  of  Georgia  is  still  highly  prized  by  the 
students  of  Natural  History.  Upon  the  removal  of  the 
public  buildings  to  Sylvania  in  1847,  this  place  was  robbed 
of  all  importance.  It  was  speedily  abandoned ;  and  now 
a  few  sherds  of  common  pottery  scattered  over  the  surface 
of  the  ground  are  all  that  is  left  to  remind  the  visitor 
that  the  tide   of  life  was   once  here. 


For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  Hartford  was  a 
thriving  town  and  the  capital  of  Pulaski  county.*  When 
in  1837t  the  Court  House  and  jail  were  transferred  to  Haw- 
kinsville,  ruin  and  decay  overtook  the  place,  and  at  pres- 
ent there  is  little  else  save  silence,  desolation,  and  sea- 
shells  on  the  abandoned  Ocmulgee  bluff. 


Alarmed  at  the  murders  committed  by  the  Cherokees, 
the  Friends  forsook  their  neat  abodes  above  Augusta  ;  and, 
for  quite  a  century,  no  memory  of  that  primal  settlement 
has  been  perpetuated  in  the  neighborhood  except  by  the 
"  Quaker-Spring." 


Military  posts,  maintained  for  temporary  purposes,  event- 
ually fall  into  disuse  and  live  only  in  history.  We  have 
already  seen  how  the  fortifications,  erected  for  the  protection 
of  the  southern  frontier  of  the  Colony,  when  the  Spanish 
war-cloud  had  vanished  returned  to  the  dust  from  which 
they  sprang.  Eendered  unnecessary  by  the  overleaping 
tide  of  population  some  were  transferred  to  the  outer  verge, 

*  Clayton's  Digest,  p.  606. 

t Pamphlet  Laws  of  1836,  p.  103. 


PETERSBURG,  JACKSONBOROUGH,  FRANCISVILLE,  &C.         241 

and  these  in  turn  were  abandoned  upon  the  assured  occu- 
pancy of  the  disputed  territory. 

Fort  Barrington, — its  mission  ended, — long  ago  crumbled 
into  nothingness  beside  the  yellow  waters  of  the  Alatamaha. 
By  DeBrahm's  plan  and  local  memories  is  it  preserved  from 
utter  oblivion.  Forts  Early^  Gaines,  Hawkins,  James, 
Laiurence,  Perry,  Scott,  Wayne,  and  Wilkinson, — and  others, 
once  potent  for  protection,  and  important  in  the  military 
operations  of  the  State, — deserted  alike  by  soldier  and 
Indian  have  utterly  perished,  and  the  tillers  of  the  soil 
run  their  peaceful  furrows  over  areas  once  swept  by  their 
guns. 


What  subsequently  became  the  site  of  the  little  town  of 
Francisville,  in  Crawford  County,  was  at  first  selected  and 
used  by  Colonel  Benjamin  Hawkins  as  a  convenient  locality 
for  the  transaction  of  the  important  duties  confided  to 
him  by  Mr.  Jefferson.  Here,  upon  the  left  bank  of  the 
Flint  river,  and  on  the  line  of  what  was  afterwards  the 
established  route  between  Macon  and  Columbus,  he  resided 
for  a  number  of  years :  devoting  his  energies  to  the  exe- 
cution of  the  trust  devolved  upon  him  as  United  States 
Agent  to  the  Creek  Indians,  striving  to  ameliorate  their 
condition,  and  by  his  judicious  influence  and  management 
perpetuating  amicable  relations  between  them  and  the 
whites.  During  his  occupancy  of  the  Old  Agency,  as  it 
came  to  be  known,  this  place  gave  manifest  indications  of 
thrift  and  activity.  A  considerable  plantation  was  formed, 
with  residence,  mills,  work-shops,  store-houses,  and  appur- 
tenances requisite  for  comfort,  security,  and  the  conduct 
of  the  business  connected  with  this  advanced  post.  Hither 
the  Indians  repaired  for  supplies  at  stated  intervals.     With 


31 


242  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OE  GEORGIA. 

them  an  extensive  traffic  was  maintained.  Aside  from  the 
performance  of  his  official  duties,  Colonel  Hawkins  devoted 
much  attention  to  rearing  cattle  and  hogs.  So  extensive 
became  his  herd  that  at  one  time  he  is  said  to  have  pos- 
sessed not  less  than  five  hundred  calves.  The  care  of  these 
animals,  and  the  details  of  the  agency  furnished  employ- 
ment for  many  subordinates.  The  Flint  river  was  utilized 
as  a  convenient  dividing  line  to  separate  the  grown  kine 
from  their  young.  Across  this  stream  a  substantial  bridge 
was  constructed,  with  a  gate  at  either  end.  This  large 
stock  of  cattle  and  swine  enabled  him  to  entertain  the 
Indians, — who  constantly  visited  him, — with  abundant  al- 
though primitive  hospitality,  and  materially  assisted  in  per- 
petuating the  kindly  and  wide-spread  influence  which  he 
exerted  over  them.  While  he  lived,  his  cattle  brand  was 
rigidly  respected  by  the  Ked  men ;  although,  soon  after 
his  death,  if  report  be  true,  the  Creeks, — oblivious  of  former 
obligations, — stole  numbers  of  these  cows  and  hogs.  Col- 
onel Hawkins  was  a  man  of  decided  mark.  To  him  does 
the  State  of  Georgia  owe  a  debt  of  special  gratitude.  His 
Sketch  of  the  Creek  Country^  is  a  most  valuable  and  in- 
teresting contribution.  The  French  General  Moreau  who, 
while  in  exile,  was  for  some  time  his  guest,  was  so  much 
impressed  with  his  character  and  labors  that  he  pronounced 
him  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  he  had  met  in 
America.  "Under  the  faithful  proconsular  sway  of  Col. 
Hawkins,"  says  Mr.  Chappell,t  "  the  Creek  Indians  enjoyed 
for  sixteen  years,  unbroken  peace  among  themselves  and 
with  their  neighbors,  and  also  whatsoever  other  blessings 
were  possible  to  the  savage  state,  which  it  was  his  study 


*  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  vol.  in,  part  i.    Savannah,  1848. 
t  Miscellanies  of  Georgia,  part  i,  p.  67.    Columbus,  1874. 


I 


PETERSBUKG,  JACKSONBOROUGH,  FRANCISVILLE,  &C.         243 

gradually  to  ameliorate.  To  this  end  he  spared  no  pains. 
Much  was  done  to  initiate,  instruct,  and  encourage  them 
in  the  lower  and  most  indispensable  parts  of  civilization. 
Pasturage  was  brought  into  use,  agriculture  also,  to  some 
extent ;  both  together  supplanting  considerably  among  them 
their  previous  entire  reliance  for  food  on  hunting,  fishing, 
and  wild  fruits.  To  the  better  and  more  secure  modes  of 
obtaining  a  livelihood  which  civilization  offers,  he  sought 
to  win  them  bj  example  as  well  as  by  precept.  He  brought 
his  slaves  from  North  Carolina,  and,  under  the  right  con- 
ceded to  his  ofiice,  he  opened  and  cultivated  a  large  plan- 
tation at  the  Agency  on  Flint  river,  making  immense  crops 
of  corn  and  other  provisions.  He  also  reared  great  herds 
of  cattle  and  swine,  and  having  thus  always  abundance  of 
meat  and  bread,  he  was  enabled  to  practice  habitually 
towards  the  Indians  a  profuse,  though  coarse  hospitality 
and  benevolence  which  gained  their  hearts  and  bound  them 
to  him  by  ties  as  loyal  and  touching  as  those  of  old  feudal 
allegiance  and  devotion." 

Here  Colonel  Hawkins  died  in  1816,  and  was  buried  on 
the  wooded  bluff  overlooking  the  Flint  river,  a  few  hundred 
yards  below  the  point  of  the  present  crossing.  No  stone 
marks  his  grave.  Among  the  scattered  and  almost  oblite- 
rated mounds  in  this  lonely  and  forsaken  cemetery  is  one 
more  prominent  than  the  rest.  It  may  designate  the  precise 
place  of  his  sepulture. 

For  several  years  after  the  death  of  this  prominent  man, 
who  gave  impulse  and  direction  to  all  about  him,  neglect 
and  decay  supervened.  New  Hfe  was  infused  into  the  set- 
tlement, however,  by  Francis  Bacon,  of  Massachusetts,  who, 
having  married  Jeffersonia, — the  youngest  daughter  of  Col. 
Hawkins, — established  himself   upon  the   site   of   the    Old 


244  THE  DEAD   TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

Agency,  about  1825,  and  founded  the  town  of  Francisville. 
Traffic  with  the  surrounding  country  was  freely  invited. 
Being  a  man  of  means,  of  intelligence,  and  of  enterprise, 
matters  prospered.  Other  settlers,  attracted  by  the  pros- 
pect for  gain,  purchased  lots  of  about  an  acre  in  extent  and 
located  themselves  on  both  sides  of  the  public  road.  Sev- 
eral dry  goods  and  grocery  stores,  a  wagon  manufactory,  a 
blacksmith  shop,  a  drug  store,  a  church,  a  public  school,  a 
tavern,  and  a  post-office  were  in  time  built.  From  1830  to 
1850  the  town  had  an  average  population  of  about  one 
hundred  whites.     Much  business  was  here  transacted. 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  railway  running  from  Macon 
to  Columbus  the  resident  merchants  sought  other  and  more 
convenient  localities.  Trade  languished,  was  then  wholly 
diverted,  and  the  town  speedily  disappeared.  Cotton  fields 
now  usurp  the  domain  formerly  occupied  by  the  village. 

The  traveler  from  the  south  as  he  crosses  the  Flint  river, 
ascends  a  long  rocky  hill,  and  passes  through  a  narrow  lane 
on  the  top,  discerns  no  traces  of  this  dead  town.  The  Old 
Agency, — once  so  important  in  the  early  days  of  this  sec- 
tion,— exists  only  in  tradition.  Francisville,  which  was 
builded  upon  its  ruins,  has  fallen  into  nothingness..  Tall 
trees  and  a  tangled  undergrowth  hide  the  graves  of  the 
dead,  and  there  is  little  else  save  silence  and  forgetfulness. 
Even  the  earth-mound  which  covers  the  bones  of  the  famous 
Colonel  Benjamin  Hawkins  is  incapable  of  positive  recog- 
nition, and  rests  under  the  common  oblivion  which  has 
overtaken  aU. 


VII. 

MISCELLANEOUS  TOWNS,  PLANTATIONS,  &C, 


DeBrahm  in  his  History  of  the  Province  of  Georgia* 
furnishes  us  with  the  following  classification  of  the  Towns 
in  the  Province  : 

"Besides  the   MetropoHs   of    Savannah   upon   Savannah 

Stream,  17  miles  from  the  Sea, 

Are  4  Sea  Port  Towns, 

Hardwick  upon  Great  Ogetchee  Stream 

Sunbury  upon  Midway  Stream 

Darian         ] 

>  upon  Alatamaha  Stream 
Frederica    j 

4  Towns  upon 
navigable  fresh  water  streams 
Brandon  <"'    upon    little    River,  is    navigable    only    to    the 
Cataract  above  Augusta,  200  miles  from  the  Sea. 
Augusta  upon  Savannah  Stream  150  miles  from  the    Sea. 
Queensbury   in   the   Fork  of    Lambert's   River   and  Great 

Ogetchee  Stream,  120  miles  from  the  Sea.^*) 
Ebenezer  upon  Savannah  Stream  57  miles  from  the  Sea. 
4  Villages  of  which 
two  are  upon  a  navigable  River, 

*  Wormsloe.  1849.  pp.  25,  26. 
(a)  Since  Gov.  "Wright's  Aclministration  this  Place  (being  deserted  in  Gov'r  Eeynolds' 
time  by  Edmond  Grey)  revived  again  under  the  name  of  Wrightsborough  inhabited 
by  above  60  Families,  and  its  Township  contains  about  200  Families  all  Quakers; 
they  are  indulged  by  the  Gov'r;  that  no  Person,  but  such  as  they  approve,  shall  be 
permitted  to  settle  among  them. 

(6)  Queensbury  is  inhabited  by  about  70,  and  its  Environs  by  above  200  Families 
mostly  Irish,  from  which  it  is  generally  called  the  Irish  Settlement. 


246  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OF  GEORGIA. 

Acton 


Villages. 


upon  Vernon  River 
Vernonburg 

Hampstead      )  ,      tt     ^     ^  ^r  -r».       » 

)■   upon  the  Head  of  Vernon   River. 
Highgate         ) 

The   enumeration   contained   in   "Histoire   et   Commerce 

des   Colonies   Angloises   dans   I'Amerique    Septentionale,"* 

is   essentially   similar:    "On   partage   la   Georgie   en   doux 

divisions.     La  Septentrionale  comprend  ; 

Savannah  1  Old-Ebenezer 

New-Ebenezer     }-  Villes.     Hampstead. 

Augusta  J  High-Gate. 

Abercorn. 

Skindwe 

La  meridionale   est   moins  peuplee,   on   n'y   trouve   que 

deux  villes  &  un  village. 

Frederica  ]  ) 

>  Villes     Barikmake   [  Village." 
New-Livemess   J  ) 

Savannah  and  Augusta  still  exist  and  are  justly  reckoned 

among  the  most  opulent,  beautiful,  and  attractive  cities  of 

the   Empire   State   of    the   South.     In  their  locations  the 

judgment   of  the  early  Colonists  has  been  sanctioned    by 

the  favorable  experience  of  nearly  a  century  and   a   half. 

New   Inverness   has   given   place   to    Darien    which,    amid 

shifting  fortunes,  is   still   supported   by   the   lumber   trade 

and  the  rice   crop   of    the  Alatamaha.     Of    the   memories 

of    Frederica,  Sunbury,  New   and   Old    Ebenezer,  Bethany, 

Hardwick,    and   Abercorn,   we   have   already   spoken ;   and 

it  remains  for  us  in  a  few  words  to  mention  some  smaller 

and    insignificant    towns,   projected    in   the   early   days   of 

the    Colony,   which    have    long    since    lost    their  identity 

*  p.  235.    A.  La  Haye,  1755. 


MISCELLANEOUS  TOWNS,  PLANTATIONS,  &C.  24? 

amid  the  changes   of    population   and   the   vicissitudes   of 
ownership. 


Brandon  may  be  recognized  as  still  maintaining  a  feeble 
existence  in  the  later  ^village  of  Wrightsboro,  although  its 
original  features  and  peculiarities  have  encountered  essen- 
tial modifications.  The  founder  of  Brandon  was  Edmund 
Grey,  a  pretending  Quaker,  who  came  from  Virginia  with 
a  number  of  followers.  A  man  of  strong  will  and  marked 
influence,  he  was  nevertheless  a  pestilent  fellow,  and,  dui'- 
ing  Governor  Reynolds'  administration,  was  compelled  to 
abandon  his  little  town.  He  subsequently  formed  a  settle- 
ment on  the  neutral  lands  lying  between  the  Alatamaha 
and  the  St.  Johns  rivers.  Thither  flocked  criminals,  and 
debtors  anxious  to  escape  the  just  demands  of  their 
creditors.* 

Brandon  on  Little  river  was  revived  by  Joseph  Mattock, 
a  Quaker,  who  having  obtained  for  himself  and  friends  a 
grant  of  forty  thousand  acres  of  land,  called  the  town 
Wrightsboro  in  honor  of  Governor  Sir  James  Wright, 
who  favored  the  establishment  of  the  new  colony.  Mr. 
Mattock  hospitably  entertained  Mr.  WilUam  Bartram  in 
1773,  by  whom  he  is  described  as  a  public  spirited  man 
about  seventy  years  of  age,  hearty,  active,  and  presiding 
as  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  settlement. t  We  recall  no 
special  incidents  in  the  history  of  this  town.  Its  life  was 
uneventful,  and  at  present  it  can  scarcely  claim  even  a 
nominal  existence. 

*DeBrahm's  History  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  p.  30.    Wormsloe,  1849. 

Stevena'  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i,  pp.  406,  407.    New  York,  1847. 
♦  Travels  Through  North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  &c.,  pp.  35,  36.     London,  1792. 


248  triE  DEAD  TOWNS  OP  GHORGtA. 

Between  four  and  five  miles  southwest  of  Savannah,  as 
its  limits  were  at  first  ascertained,  and  on  rising  ground, 
the  village  of  High-gate  was  laid  out  in  1733.  Twelve 
families, — mostly  French, — were  here  located.  A  mile  to 
the  eastward  the  village  of  Hampstead  was  formed  the  same 
year,  and  peopled  by  twelve  families, — chiefly  German. 
These  settlers  were  engaged  in  gardening,  and  their  prin- 
cipal business  was  to  supply  the  inhabitants  of  Savannah 
with  vegetables.  Francis  Moore,  who  visited  these  little 
towns  in  the  spring  of  1736,  describes  them  as  being 
"  pretty,"  and  says  that  the  "  Planters  are  very  forward, 
having  built  neat  Huts  and  clear'd  and  planted  a  great 
deal  of  Land." 

It  would  appear,  however,  that  the  prosperity  of  these 
villages  was  of  short  duration.  We  are  informed  that  in 
1740  but  two  families  remained  at  High-gate,  while  Hamp- 
stead was  entirely  abandoned."'^ 


For  the  protection  of  the  few  families  to  whom  a  home 
at  Thunderbolt  had  been  assigned,  a  small  fort  was  erected ; 
but  as  early  as  1737  it  had  fallen  into  decay. 


On  the  north-east  point  of  Skidoway  island,  ten  families 
were  placed  and  a  fort  built  in  1734.  This  attempt  at  colo- 
nization proved  so  unsuccessful  that  four  years  afterwards 
the  village  had  disappeared  and  the  fortification  was  in  a 
deserted  and  ruinous  condition. 


*  For  further  notices  of  these  villages  see  ' '  Moore's  Voyage  to  Georgia,"  p .  3*2.    London, 
1744.    "  An  Account  Shewing  the  Progress  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,"  &c.,  p.  35.    London, 

1741.  "A  State  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,  attested  upon  Oath,"  &c.,  p.  10.    London, 

1742.  "Extract  of  the  Rev'd  Mr.  John  Wesley's  Journal,"  &c.,  p.  61.  Bristol,  n.  d.  "A 
True  and  Historical  Narrative  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,"  &c.,  p.  109.  Charles-Town,  1741. 
"  An  Impartial  Enquiry  into  the  State  and  Utility  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,"  be.  p.  51. 
Loudon,  1741. 


MISCELiANEOUS  TOWNS,  PLANTATIONS,  &C.  249 

A  similar  fatality  attended  the  effort  to  plant  a  colony 
of  ten  families  near  the  Hght-house  on  Tybee  island  the 
year  after  Savannah  was  settled. 


So  long  as  Fort  Argyle  was  garrisoned,  the  ten  free-        \X 
holders   who   estabhshed    their   plantations   in   its   vicinity 
strove  to  render  their  cultivation  profitable :  but,  upon  the 
withdrawal   of  the   Rangers,  eight   of  them   removed,   and 
within  a  short  time  all  signs  of  industry  disappeared. 


The  labors  of  the  Scottish  colonists  at  Joseph's  Town 
were  prosecuted  but  a  few  years,  and  that  settlement  was 
quickly  numbered  among  the  failures  which  occurred  on 
every  hand. 

Near  fort  St.  Andrew  on  the  north-east  extremity  of  Cum- 
berland island  grew  up  the  village  of  Barrimacke,  which, 
about  1740,  embraced  some  twenty-four  families.  When 
General  Oglethorpe's  .regiment  was  withdrawn  from  the 
southern  frontier,  this  town  speedily  died,  and  for  more 
than  a  century  all  traces  of  its  former  existence  have  been 
entu'ely  wanting. 

Similar  is  the  history  of  the  German  village  of  gardeners 
and  fishermen  wliich  stood  near  the  southern  end  of  the 
military  road  connecting  Frederica  with  St.  Simons. 

Of  the  meagre  and  uneventful  lives  of  Acton  and  Vernon- 
burgh  on  Vernon  river,  of  Goshen  and  Bethany  near  the 
Savannah,  of  Williamsburgh,  and  Fort  Barrington  on  the 
Alatamaha,  and  of  Queensbury  on  the  Great  Ogeechee, 
we  feel  scarce  called  upon  to*  speak.  Were  we  not  dealing 
exclusively  with  the  dead  towns  of  Georgia,  we  might  enume- 
rate others  which,  in  their  moribund  condition  and  present 

32 


250  THE  DEAD  TOWNS  OE  GEORGIA. 

dilapidation,   perpetuate    little   more   than   the   names   and 
sites  which  they  at  first  received. 

Of  the  more  prominent  plantations  established  at  an  early 
date  we  may  mention  those  of  Colonel  Cochran,  Captain 
Gascoin,  and  Lieutenant  Horton  on  St.  Simon's  island, — 
of  Messrs.  Carr  and  Carteret  on  the  main, — of  Sir  Francis 
Bathurst,  Walter  Augustine,  Kobert  Williams,  Patrick  Tail- 
fer,  Jacob  Matthews,  Mr.  Cooksey,  and  Captain  Watson  on 
the  Savannah  river, — of  Mr.  Houstoun  on  the  Little  Ogee- 
chee, — of  the  Messrs.  Sterling  on  the  Great  Ogeechee  river, — 
of  Messrs.  Noble  Jones,  Henry  Parker,  and  John  Fallow- 
field  on  the  Isle  of  Hope, — of  Oxtead,  the  settlement  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Causton  on  Augustine  creek, — of  the  Hermitage, 
the  abode  of  Hugh  Anderson, — of  Mr.  Thomas  Christie, — 
of  the  twenty  German  families  sent  over  by  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf, — of  Mr.  William  Williamson, — of  the  Trustees,  com- 
mitted to  the  care  of  William  Bradley, — of  Mr.  Thomas 
Jones, — and  of  president  William  Stephens  at  Bewlie.  This 
last  plantation  consisted  of  a  grant  of  five  hundred  acres  at 
the  mouth  of  Vernon  river,  and  was  confirmed  by  General 
Oglethorpe  on  the  19th  of  April,  1738.  Of  this  place  Mr. 
Stephens,  on  the  21st  of  March,  1739,  writes  as  follows  :  "  I 
was  now  called  upon  to  give  the  Place  a  Name ;  and  there- 
upon naturally  revolving  in  my  Thoughts  divers  Places  in 
my  native  Country,  to  try  if  I  could  find  any  that  had  a 
Resemblance  to  this ;  I  fancied  that  BeivUe,  a  Manor  of  his 
Grace  the  Duke  of  Montague  in  the  New  Forest,  was  not 
unlike  it  much  as  to  its  Situation ;  and  being  on  the  Skirts 
of  that  Forest,  had  Plenty  of  large  Timber  growing  every- 
where near ;  moreover  a  fine  Arm  of  the  Sea  running  close 
by,  which  parts  the  Isle  of  Wight  from  the  main  Land,  and 
makes  a  beautiful  Prospect ;  from  all  which  Tradition  tells 


MISCELLANEOUS  TOWNS,  PLANTATIONS,  &C.  251 

• 

US  it  took  its  Name  and  was  antiently  called  Beaulieu, 
though  now  vulglarly  Bewlie ;  only  by  leaving  out  the  a  in 
the  first  Syllable,  and  the  u  in  the  end  of  the  last."^ 

This  is  the  true  account  of  the  original  cession  and 
miming  of  that  attractive  bluff  rendered  memorable  in  after 
years  by  the  debarcation  of  Count  D'Estaing  on  the  12th 
of  September,  1779,  and  by  the  erection  of  formidable  bat- 
teries for  the  protection  of  this  approach  to  the  city  of 
Savannah  during  the  Confederate  struggle  for  independence. 

These  plantations,  and  others  which  might  be  enumerated, 
have,  with  a  single  exception,  so  far  as  our  information 
extends,  lost  all  traces  of  primal  occupancy  and  passed 
into  the  ownership  of  strangers.  We  allude  to  the  beautiful 
plantation  of  Wormsloe  on  the  Isle  of  Hope.  Of  this 
interesting  spot  we  have  the  following  description  penned 
by  an  intelligent  visitor  who  made  his  observations  in  1743. 
He  was  then,  in  an  open  boat,  journeying  towards  Savannah 
from  St.  Catharine's  island,  where  a  short  season  had  been 
spent  in  the  companionship  of  the  friendly  Indians  who 
were  dwellers  there.  "  We  arrived  in  somewhat  more  than 
two  Days  at  the  Narrotvs  where  there  is  a  kind  of  Manche- 
colas  Fort  for  their  Defence,  garrison' d  from  Wormsloe, 
where  we  soon  arriv'd.  It  is  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Jones 
10  Miles  S.  E.  of  Savannah,  and  we  could  not  help  observ- 
ing as  we  passed,  several  very  pretty  Plantations. 

"  Wormsloe  is  one  of  the  most  agreeable  Spots  I  ever 
saw,  and  the  Improvements  of  that  ingenious  Man  are  very 
extraordinary :  He  commands  a  Company  of  Marines  who 
are  quarter'd  in  Huts  near  his  House,  which  is  also  a  tol- 
erable defensible  Place  with  small  Arms.     From  the  House 

*"A  Journal  of  the  Proceedings  in  Georgia,"  &c.,  vol.  u,  pp.  166,  318,  319.    London, 
1742. 


252  THE  DEAD.  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

there  is  a  Vista  of  near  three  Miles  cut  thro'  the  Woods  to 
Mr.  Whitefield's  Orphan  House,  which  has  a  very  fine  Effect 
on  the  Sight."^ 

After  conchiding  his  visit  to  Savannah,  this  gentleman 
"  set  out  in  one  of  Captain  Jones's  Scout  Boats  mann'd  by 
a  Party  of  his  Marine  Company ^  and  had  a  very  pleasant 
Passage  to  Fort  Frederick  on  the  Island  of  Port  Royal  in 
South  Carolina.'' f 

Noble  Jones,  the  proprietor  of  Wormsloe,  was  a  Lieu- 
tenant commanding  thirty  men, — volunteers  and  enlisted 
from  Savannah, — in  General  Oglethorpe's  expedition  against 
St.  Augustine.  He  was  subsequently  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  a  scout  and  guard  boat  and  a  company  of  marines 
to  watch  the  "  Narrows  at  Skedoway "  and  the  "  Inlets  of* 
the  near  adjoining  Sea  ;"  more  especially  "  those  near  him 
of  Wassaw  and  Ussuybaw,  lest  any  surprise  should  hap- 
pen." His  guard-boat  was  armed  "with  a  small  swivel 
Gun  "  in  the  bow ;  and,  in  February,  1741,  upon  the  appear- 
ance of  a  Spanish  Privateer  on  the  coast,  "  One  of  our 
smartest  Pieces  of  Cannon,"  says  Stephens,  "carrying  a 
four  Pound  BaU,  and  well  mounted,"  was  deHvered  to  him 
to  assist  in  the  coast  defense.  J 

At  Wormsloe  may  still  be  seen  the  remains  of  the  Tabby 
Fortification  constructed  b}^  Captain  Noble  Jones.  The 
outHne  of  the  work  and  its  general  features  are  well  pre- 
served, and  constitute,  perhaps,  the  most  unique  and  inter- 
esting historical  ruin  on  the  Georgia  coast. 

With  all  its  wealth  of  magnificent  live-oaks,  palmettoes, 
magnoHas,  and  cedars ;  with  its  quiet,  gentle  views,  balmy 


♦London  Magazine  for  1745,  p.  552. 
tidem,  p.  604. 

t  Stephens'  Journal  of  Proceedings,  vol.  n,  pp.  472,  492,  497. 
Idem,  vol.  iii,  pp.  13,  16,  17,  124,  206.    London,  1742. 


MISCELLANEOUS  TOWNS,  PLANTATIONS,  &C.  253 

airs,  soft  sunlight,  inviting  repose,  and  pleasant  traditions, 
this  beautiful  residence  has  at  all  times  remained  in  the 
possession  and  ownership  of  the  descendants  of  the  original 
proprietor.  Mr.  G.  W.  J.  DeRenne  now  guards  the  spot 
with  all  the  tender  care  and  devotion  of  a  most  loyal  son, 
and  to  the  memories  of  the  past  has  added  literary  and 
cultivated  associations  in  the  present,  which  impart  new 
charms  to  the  name  of    Wornisloe. 

In  this  youthful  country,  so  careless  of  and  indifferent 
to  the  memories  of  other  days, — so  ignorant  of  the  value 
of  monuments  and  the  impressive  lessons  of  antiquity, — 
where  no  law  of  primogeniture  encourages  in  the  son  the 
conservation  of  the  abode  and  heirlooms  of  his  fathers, — 
where  new  fields,  cheap  lands,  and  novel  enterprises  at 
remote  points  are  luring  the  loves  of  succeeding  genera- 
tions from  the  gardens  which  delighted,  the  hoary  oaks 
which  sheltered,  and  the  fertile  fields  which  nourished 
their  ancestors, — where  paternal  estates  are  constantly 
alienated  at  public  and  private  sales, — landed  acquisitions 
are  placed  at  the  mercy  of  speculative  strangers,  and 
family  treasures,  established  inheritances,  and  old  home- 
steads are  seldom  preserved.  Thus  it  comes  to  pass 
that  ancestral  graves  lie  neglected,  abodes  once  noted 
for  refinement,  intelligence,  virtue,  and  hospitahty  lose 
their  identity  in  the  ownership  of  strangers,  and  tradi- 
tions worthy  of  transmission,  are  forgotten  amid  the 
selfish  engagements  of  an  alien  present. 

The  utilitarian  may  smile  at  this,  the  Republican  rejoice 
in  it  as  a  logical  sequence  of  his  cherished  theories,  and 
the  disciples  of  Benjamin  Franklin  pronounce  in  favor 
of  such  a  condition  of  affairs,  but  there  is  a  deal  of  sad- 
ness  about  it  nevertheless;     and  if  this  order  of  things 


254  THE  DEAD  TOWNS   OF  GEORGIA. 

obtain  in  the  coming  years  as  it  has  in  those  which  are  gone, 
America  will  continue  to  be  largely  a  land  without  perma- 
nent  homes, — a   country   devoid   of  ancestral    monuments. 

In  planting  colonies  where  proper  preliminary  surveys 
have  not  been  made,  and  where  the  founders  are  com- 
pelled in  large  measure  to  grope  their  way  in  selecting 
points  for  earliest  occupancy,  errors  of  judgement  will 
occur,  and  changes  will  be  necessitated  upon  a  more 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  territory  and  during  the 
progress  of  development.  Locations  at  first  deemed  es- 
sential become  subordinate  to  others,  and  sometimes 
prove  of  no  value.  Mistakes  are  committed  with  regard 
to  the  importance  of  streams,  lines  of  communication,  and 
the  desirability  of  permanent  seats.  Defensive  positions 
are  rendered  useless  as  the  tide  of  human  life  advances. 
Barren  fields  are  exchanged  for  others  possessing  greater 
fertility.  Diseases  are  developed  at  certain  points  which 
compel  their  abandonment. 

Settlements  increase  to  the  annihilation  or  absorption  of 
others  in  their  vicinity.  The  possessions  of  the  many 
become  concentrated  in  the  ownership  of  the  few.  Towns 
perish  for  lack  of  support.  Thus  nothing  is  more  common 
than  to  observe,  amid  the  changes  consequent  upon  the 
development  of  new  plantations,  a  mortality  among  vil- 
lages and  settlements  for  which,  at  the  outset,  growth  and 
lasting  prosperity  were  confidently  anticipated. 

"It  hath  been  a  great  endangering  to  the  health  of 
some  plantations,"  says  Lord  Bacon,  "that  they  have  built 
along  the  sea  and  rivers  in  marish  and  unwholesome 
grounds;  therefore  though  you  begin  there  to  avoid  car- 
riage and  other  like  discommodities,  yet  build  still  rather 
upwards  from  the  stream,  than  along. 


MISCELLANEOUS  TOWNS,  PLANTATIONS,  &C.  255 

Had  this  precaution  been  observed,  fewer  towns  would 
have  died  in  Georgia. 

After  all,  however,  despite  the  admonitions  of  the  wisest 
and  the  foresight  of  the  most  experienced,  we  cannot 
hope  to  arrest  the  potent  influence  of  inherent  decay,  or 
to  stay  that  unseen  hand  which  remorselessly  worketh 
change  and  destruction  among  human  habitations. 

"  Out  upon  Time  I  it  will  leave  no  more 

Of  the  things  to  come  than  the  things  before ! 

Out  upon  Time  !   who  forever  will  leave 

But  enough  of  the  Past  for  the  Future  to  grieve 

O'er  that  which  hath  been,  and  o'er  that  which  must  be  : 

What  we  have  seen,  our  sons  shall  see  ; 

Remnants  of  things  that  have  pass'd  away. 

Fragments  of  Stone  rear'd  by  Creatures  of  Clay." 


INDEX. 


\ 


Abercobn,  14  Its  location  and  settlement, 
137.  Saltzburgers  refreshed  at,  138. 
Mr.  Stephens'  visit  to,  138-139.  Oc- 
cupied by  Col.  Campbell,  140.  Feeble 
life  of,  139-140. 

Abbott,  John,  240. 

African  slaves,  171. 

Alexander,  Dr.  222. 

Allen,  Rev.  Moses,  222. 

Alligators,  58. 

Amelia  island,  59,  77,  97. 

Anastasia  island,  85. 

Andrew,  Benjamin,  Sr.^  206. 

Antrobus,  Isaac,  157. 

Argyle,  the  Duke  of,  91. 

Augspourguer,  Samuel,  26. 

Bachelok's  redoubt,  96. 

Bacon,  Francis,  244. 

Baillie,  Kenneth,  145,  146. 

Baker,  Benjamin,  194,  222. 

Baker.  John,  188. 

Baker,  Captain  John,  178.   Colonel,  185,  222. 

Baker,  Ma,ior  William.  186,  200,  222. 

Barba,  Captain  Antonio,  108,  109. 

Barker,  Joseph,  19. 

Barrimacke,  village  of,  97,  249. 

Bar  tram,  William,  visits  Frederica,  128-129. 
His  visit  to,  and  description  of  Sun- 
bury,  169,  170.  His  description  of 
Fort  James,  233,  247. 

Belfast,  Captain  Spencer's  exploit  at,  199. 

Bergman,  Kev.  John  Ernest,  40. 

Bermuda,  emigrants  from  in  Sunbury,  156. 

Bermuda-grass,  217. 

Bermuda  island,  157,  169,  171. 

Bethany,  30. 

Bewlie,  250,  251. 

Black-Sloop,  the  privateer,  99. 

Blanford,  the  man  of  war,  67. 

Bloody-marsh,  affair  of,  108, 109. 

Bolzius,  Rev.  John  Martin,  11,  14,  18,  25,  27, 
31. 

Bosomworth,  Thomas,  155. 

Bosomworth,  Mary,  155. 

Bowen,  Commodore  Oliver,  202. 

Braddock,  Captain,  affair  with  the  Dun- 
more,  202. 

Brandon,  village  of,  245,  247. 

Brewery  on  Jekyll  island,  98. 


British  exactions,  197-199. 

Brooks,  Francis,  78. 

Brownson,  Governor  Nathan,  222. 

Bryan,  Jonathan,  178,  183. 

Bull,  Lieutenant-Governor,  102. 

Bulloch,  Archibald,  174. 

Bull-Town  Swamp,  affair  at,  185. 

Cadogan,  Laeutenaut,  110. 

Call.  Richard,  205. 

Campbell,  Colonel,  140,  192,  194,  197. 

Canal,  through  General's  island,  96.  To 
connect  Midway  and  North-Newport 
.rivers,  158. 

Carney,  Captain  Arthur,  130. 

Carolina,  refuses  to  aid  Georgia,  102. 

Caroline,  Queen,  26. 

Carr,  Mark,  cession  of  lands  to,  143,  144.  A 
marked  man  in  the  Colony,  143.  Con- 
veys land  to  Trustees  for  Town  of 
Sunbury,  145. 

Carr,  Thomas,  155. 

Cathcart,  Ensign,  88. 

Chappell,  A.  H.,  242,  243. 

Christ  Church,  Parish  of,  35. 

Cochrane,  Lieut.  Col.  James,  66. 

Colonel's  island,  Fuser  lands  upon,  189. 

Commissioners  lor  the  port  of  Sunbury,  208. 

Commissioners  of  Frederica,  132,  133 . 

Cook,  Lieut.  Col.,  104. 

Cooper,  Colonel,  178. 

Couper,  John,  190. 

Cornish,  Captain,  60,  52. 

Cotton,  24. 

Counties  in  Georgia  in  1777,  172. 

Coweta-Town,  75. 

Craemer,  Christopher,  36. 

Cruger,  Col.  199,  200, 

Cumberland  island,  59,  97. 

Cuthbert,  Hon.  Alfred,  222. 

Cuthbert,  Hon.  John  A.  219,  222. 

Dabien,  55.    Description  of,  in  1743,  116. 

Dartmouth,  Earl  of,  127,  176. 

Dartmouth,  town  of,  233,  234. 

Dasher,  Martin,  37. 

DeBrahra,  John  Gerar,  William,  21,  30,  34 
225,  226,  245. 

D'Estaing,  Count,  40.  200. 

Defatt,  Captain,  183. 

Delegal,  Ensign,  63. 


258 


INDEX. 


Delegal,  Lieutenant,  63, 
Delegal's  fort,  63. 

Demere,  Captain  Raymond,  94..  109.  110. 
DeRenne,  Mr.  G.  W,  J..  2.53. 
Desbrisay,  Captain,  88. 
Destrade,  99. 
Dollar,  Captain,  195. 
Dorchester  settlement,  150. 
Dorchester  Society,  149.     Removal  to  Mid- 
way district,  150-1.54. 
Dunbar,  Captain,  51,  104,  106,  108. 
Dunbar,  Lieutenant  George,  56,  81. 
Dunwody,  Dr.,  223. 

Ebenezeb,  Old.  Location  of,  13.  Settle- 
ment of,  14-15.  Accession  to  popula- 
tion of,  17.  Sickness  at,  17.  Inhabi- 
tants of,  dissatisfied  with  situation, 
18.    Removal  to  New  Ebenezer,  19. 

Ebenezer,  New.  Location  of,  19,  20.  Plan 
of  the  town  of,  21.  Condition  of  in 
1738-9.  21,  24.  ailk-culture  at,  2.5-30. 
Mill-establishment  at,  32.  Church 
property,  33.  Library  at,  34.  Period 
of  greatest  prosperity  of,  35.  Divi- 
sion of  sentiment  at  commencement 
of  Revolutionary  War,  ,36.  Occupied 
by  Lieut.  Col,  Maitland,  36.  Fortified, 
36.  Sufterings  of  inhabtants  of, 
during  the  war,  37  et  seq.  Decay  of, 
40.  Revival  of  the  prosperity  of,  40. 
Its  decline,  41, 42.  Made  the  County- 
town  of  Effingham  County,  41.  Re- 
moval of  public  buildings  to  Spring- 
field, 41,  42.  Glebe  lands  of,  sold.  42. 
Present  appearance  of,  43,  44. 

Edinborough,  239. 

Effingham  County,  35. 

Elbert,  Col.  S.,  129.  Reports  capture  of  the 
Hinchinbrooke,  130-131,  183,  187. 

Elberton,  41. 

Elfenstein,  Jacob,  37. 

Elfenstein,  Joshua,  37. 

Elliott,  Grey,  145,  146, 

Elliott.  John,  145,  146,  222. 

Ellis,  Governor,  149,  179. 

Embarcation,  the  great,  15,  16. 

English  language  introduced  into  the  Saltz- 
burger  Churches,  42, 

Eyre,  Ensign,  104, 

Falcon,  the  sloop,  99. 

Federal  Town,  239. 

Few,  Col,,  199, 

Filature  in  Savannah,  27-29. 

Floerl,  John,  36, 

Floyd,  Gen,  Charles,  219, 


Forces,   estimate  of  SpanLsh  and  English, 
during   the  attack   upon  St,  Simon's 
island,  115, 
Fort  Argyle,  47,  48,  142,  181,  249. 

Augusta,  181. 

Barrington,  181,  241. 

Bartow,  183. 

Defence,  220. 

Diego,  81. 

Francis  de  Papa,  81. 

Frederick,  127,  128,  181, 

George,  180, 

Halifax,  180, 

Howe,  185. 

James,  233, 

Morris,  180-183, 

Picolata,  78, 

St,  Andrews,  59,  61,  73,  97, 

St,  Francis,  78, 

St.  George,  61,  180. 

St,  Simons,  60,  61. 

William,  61,  97,  104,  105,  113,  181. 
Fiancisville,  241-244. 
Franklin,  Dr.  Benjamin,  146, 
Frederica,  17,  45,  48,  Arrival  of  Colonists 
at,  51.  Town  and  fort  laid  out,  51-53, 
Plan  of  the  town,  53-54.  Labors  of 
the  early  settlers  of,  54^55,  Location 
of  the  town  of,  5.5.  Harbor  of,  55-56 
Attractions  and  health  of  the  place, 
56,  57.  Indian  dance  at,  60.  Fort 
strengthened  and  water  battery  con- 
structed, 61,  62.  Supplied  with  water 
and  bread,  62.  Powder  magazine  and 
store-house  built,  64.  Courageous 
spirit  of  the  inhabitants  of,  64.  Gar- 
rison reinforced  by  Oglethorpe's  regi- 
ment, 67,  68.  Military  road  connect- 
ing with  Soldiers'  fort,  68,  69.  De- 
pressing condition  of  affairs  at,  70,  71. 
Enc^losed  by  a  fortification,  72.  Pop- 
ulation of,  in  1740,  94,  95.  Defensive 
works  and  general  appearance  of,  96. 
Spanish  demonstration  against,  107- 
114.  Strengthened  by  Oglethorpe, 
117,  148.  Magazine  blown  up,  119, 
Condition  and  appearance  of  in  1743, 
119-126.     Description  of  in  1747,  125, 

126.  Troops  withdrawn  from,  126, 
129.    Visited  by  Governor  Reynolds, 

127.  New  defensive  works  suggested, 
127.  Visited  by  Bartram,  128,  129, 
Col,  Elbert's  description  of,  in  1777, 
129.  State  legislation  in  regard  to, 
132,  134,  Capture  of  the  Hinchin- 
brooke near,  130, 131, 


INDEX. 


259 


Frederica,  Military  works  of,  ordered  to  be 
repaired,  132.   Town  burnt,  132.  Com- 
missioners   of,     appointed,   132,   133. 
Sibbald's  description  of,  134.    Ceases 
to  exist,   135.     Kemble's  description 
of  its  ruins,  136. 
French  deserter,  111,  112. 
Fuser,  Lieut.  Col.  132,  158,  185.      Threatens 
Sunbury,   189,   192.      Sumnxons   Fort 
Morris  to  surrender,  189.      Raises  the 
siege  of  Sunbury,  192. 
Galatea,  escape  of  the, 132. 
General's  island,  canal  cut  through,  96. 
Georgia,   original  cession   of  lands  to  the 

Trustees  of  the  Colony  of,  47. 
Georgia's  losses,  205. 
German  village  on  St.  Simon's  island,  122, 

249. 
Germain,  Lord  George,  185, 
Gibbon,  Ensign,  lOt),  110. 
Gibraltar,  troops  from,  6(i. 
Goldsmith,  Captain,  200. 
Goshen,  30,  249. 
Gray,  Lieutenant,  200. 
Greeue,  Gen.  Nathaniel,  204. 
Grey,  Edmund,  247. 

Gronau,  Rev.  Israel  Christian,  11,  18,  25. 
Gwinnett,  Button,  129,  156,  174.  222. 
Habersham,  Mr.,  29. 
Hall,  Dr.  Lyman,  173,  175,  177,  205,  222. 
Hampstead,  village  of,  248. 
Hardy,  Captain.  114.  202. 
Hard  wick,  named  in  1755,  224.    Suggested 
as  the  Capital  of  Georgia.  224,   225. 
Fortifications    for,   planned    by    De- 
Brahm,  225.    Grant  of  lands  for  set- 
tlers of,  225.      State  legislation  in  re- 
gard to,  227,  228,  231,  2:32.    Ceases  to 
be  the  County  site  of  Bryan  Co.,  228. 
229.      Sibbald's    description    of,   229. 
Population  of,  229.     Inhabitants  of, 
229.      Its  commerce,    230.    Its  deca- 
dence, 229.      Its   location,     229,  230. 
Attempted  revival  of,  231. 
Harrington  Hall  94. 
Harris,  Dr.,  70. 
Harrisburgh,  239. 
Hartford,  240. 

Hawkins,  Col.  Benjamin,  241-243. 
Heathcote,  Alderman.  70. 
Hector,  the  man  of  war.  67. 
Hermsdorf.  Captain,  15,  17,  51. 
Heron.  Major,  88,  99,  106. 
High-Gate,  248. 

Highlanders,  settlement  of  at  New  Inver- 
ness, 48,  49.  Bravery  of,  49.  Two, 
butchered  on  Amelia  island,  77,  78. 


Highlanders,    Killed    at    Fort    Moosa,  87, 

Plantation  of,  on  Amelia  island,  97. 
Hinchinbrooke,  capture  of  the,  130-131. 
Holsendorf,  William.  37. 
Homer,  Captain,  104. 
Horcasilas,  General.  103. 
Horton,  Mr.,  50,  65,  71,  96. 
Horton,  Captain,  105,  108,  113,  119. 
Houstoun,  John,  174. 

Howe,  Gen'l  Robert,  130,  184,  185,  193,  194. 
Howell,  Captain,  202.  Affair  at  Sunbury,  203. 
Howley,  Richard,  222. 
Indian  Allies,  97. 
Indian  Chief,  valor  of,  89. 
Indian  dance,  60. 
Indian  depredations,  208,  209. 
Indian  fields,  55. 
Ingham,  Rev.  Mr.,  15. 
Innes,  Col.  Alexander,  197. 
Insurrection  of  negro  slaves,  74,  75. 
Jackson,  Major  James,  187,  204. 
Jacksonborough,  239,  240. 
Jacksonborough    Methodist    Episcopal 

Church,  239. 
Jasper,  Sergeant,  38. 
Jekyll.  Sir  Joseph,  68. 
Jerusalem  Church.  25.  32,  36.  38,  39. 
Jones,  Captain  Joseph,  219. 
Jones,  Major  John,  200,  222. 
Jones,  Captain  Noble,  108.  251.  252. 
Jones,  Hon.  Noble  W.,  174. 

Joseph's  Town,  137,  138,  249. 

Kelsall.  Col.  Roger,  203. 

Kemble.  Frances  Anne,  136. 

Kilpatrick.  Gen.  Judson,  188. 

Kitchen,  James,  157. 

Kitchins,  Collector,  203. 

Lamar,  Captain  C.  A.  L.,  182. 

Lands,  tenure  of  in  Georgia,  144,  145. 

Lane,  Major,  180,  191,  194.    Surrenders  Fort 
Morris.  195,  196. 

Law,  William,  222. 

Lawrence,  John,  Jr.,  125-126. 

Lawson,  Captain  John,  196,  202. 

Lee,  Gen'l  Charles,  183. 

Lee,-  Francis,  155. 

Lembke,  Rev.  Mr.,  25,  32. 

Lewis,  Captain  Elijah,  209. 

Liberty  County,  172.  176.  205.  208.  209,  210. 
218,  220. 

Liberty  Independent  Troop,  220. 

Library  of  New  Ebenezer,  34. 

Lincoln,  General  Benjamin.  40,  200. 

Lisbon,  239. 

Lombe.  Sir  Thomas,  25. 

London  Merchant,  the  ship,  50. 

Lord,  Rev.  Joseph,  150. 


260 


INDEX. 


Lyell,  Sir  Charles,  57. 

MacClellan.  Captain,  119-120. 

MacKay,  Captain  Hugh,  49,  .55,  58,  .59,  73. 

MacKay,  Lieutenant,  104,109. 

Magazine  at  Frederica,  blown  up,  119. 

Malatche.  155. 

Malcontents,  100,  101. 

Martin,  John,  155,  205. 

Martyn,  Benjamin,  21,  24,  2(5,  45,  4«. 

Mattock,  .Joseph.  247. 

Maxwell,  Lieutenant,  104. 

Maxwell,  Captain,  202. 

Maxwell,  James,  145,  146. 

Maybank,  Col.  Andrew,  178. 

McAllister,  Matthew,  216. 

McCall.  Captain  Hugh.  108, 156, 195, 196.  201. 

McGirth,  185,  187,  202. 

Mcintosh,  Col.  John,  184,  189.  190.  191.  199, 
222. 

Mcintosh,  John  Moore,  49. 

Mcintosh,  General  Lachlan,  49,  130,  200. 

Mcintosh,  Rory.  190. 

McPherson,  Captain.  48,  50. 

McWhir.  Rev'd  Dr.  Wm.,  214.  215. 

Messias,  Major,  219. 

Midnight,  the  sloop.  50. 

Midway,  the  district  of,  147,  151.  188. 

Midway  Congregation,  149-154,  170. 

Midway  Meeting  House,  170.  Aftair  near, 
186-188.    Burnt  by  Prevost,  188. 

Midway  river,  147,  148. 

Milton,  John,  205. 

Miscellaneous  plantations  in  Georgia,  250. 

Miscellaneous  towns  in  Georgia,  245-246. 

Mistakes  in  early  Colonization,  253-255. 

Molochi,  80. 

Monteano,  Don  Manuel  de,  102,  112, 113. 

Moore,  Francis,  16,  18,  50,  56,  58,  248. 

Moosa,  fort,  84,  85. 

Moravians,  15. 

Morris.  Fort,  180,  183.  Invested  by  Lieut. 
Col.  Fuser.  189.  192.  Summoned  to 
surrender,  189.  Captured  by  Prevost, 
195,  196.     Named  changed,  196,  220. 

Moultrie,  General  Wm.,  140.  198. 

Muhlenburg,  Rev.  Dr.,  32. 

Mulberry  trees,  26. 

Negro  slaves,  74,  205. 

New  Castle,  the  Duko  of,  98. 

New  Inverness,  settlement  of,  48.  Descrip- 
tion of  in  1743,  116. 

Newton,  Sergeant,  38. 

Nitschman,  Rev.  David,  15. 

Norfolk,  the  sloop,  99. 

North  Newport  Bridge,  affair  at  the,  186. 

Ogeechee  Ferry,  188. 

Oglethorpe,  James  E.,  12. 


Oglethorpe,  Designates  a  settlement  for 
the  Saltzburgers,  13,  14.  Accom- 
panies great  embarcation,  16.  Visits 
New  Ebenezer,  18.  Consents  to  a 
change  in  the  location  of  the  town. 
18.  Suggests  silk-culture  in  Geor- 
gia, 25.  26.  Offers  reasons  for 
founding  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  46, 
47.    Provides   homes   for  emigrants, 

47.  Explores  the  southern  frontiers, 

48.  Accompanies  Colonists  to  Fred- 
erica,  51,  53.  Locates  town  and  forti- 
cations  at  Frederica,  51-54.  Pre- 
scribes the  labors  of  the  settlers,  54. 
Disabuses  the  minds  of  the  Colonists 
of  the  fear  of  alligators,  58.  As- 
certains boundary  line  between 
Georgia  .  and  Florida.  58,  .59.  Lo- 
cates Fort  St.  Andrews,  .59:  Fort 
William,  61 :  and  Fort  St.  George,  61. 
His  activityand  boldness  in  protecting 
the  southern  frontier,  61,  62,  70,  71. 
Accomplishes  temporary  adjustment 
of  disputes  with  the  Spaniards  in 
Florida,  64,  65.  Embarks  for  England, 
65.  Appointed  General  of  all  the  forces 
in  Carolina  and  Georgia,  66.  Author- 
ized to  raise  a  regiment,  and  com- 
missioned Colonel,  66.  Raises  his 
regiment,  66,  67.  Arrives  with  troops 
in  Jekyll  Sound,  67.  Constructs  mili- 
tary road  connecting  Frederica  and 
the  Soldiers'  Fort,  68,  69.  Advises 
Alderman  Heathcote  and  the  Trustees 
of  the  depressing  condition  of  affairs, 
70,  71.  Attempted  assassination  of,  73, 

74.  Propitiates  the   Indian   nations. 

75,  76.  Acts  as  one  of  the  pall-bearers 
of  Tomo-chi-chi,  76.  Pursues  the 
Spaniards,  78.  Prepares  for  the  re- 
duction of  St.  Augustine,  79-81.  Cap- 
tures Forts  Francis  de  Papa,  and 
Diego,  81.  Proposes  to  take  St.  Au- 
gustine "sword  in  hand,"  82.  Ad- 
vances upon  and  invests  St.  Au- 
gustine. 85-88.  Raises  the  siege  of 
that  place,  88.     Causes  of  liis   fail- 

'  ure  to  capture  the  town,  88-90. 
Conduct  of.  complimented  by  the 
Duke  of  Argyle,  91.  Sick  of  a  fever, 
91-92.  Ceaseless  activity  of,  92,  93. 
His  cottage  near  Frederica,  93.  94. 
Narrowly  watches  St.  Augustine,  97, 
98.  His  control  over  the  Indians, 
97,  98.  Asks  reinforcements  from  the 
Home  Government,  98.  His  manly 
resolution,  99, 


INDEX. 


261 


i 


Oglethorpe,  Demonstration  off  the  har- 
bor of  St.  Augustine,  99.  Assailed  by 
malcontents,  100,  101.  His  account 
of  the  Spanish  attack  upon  St.  Si- 
mon's island.  103-114.  Estimate  of 
his  services,  115,  116.  Congratulated 
by  the  Governors  of  the  Colonies, 
117.  Strengthens  the  fortifications  of 
Frederica,  117.  Invades  Florida  and 
threatens    St.   Augustine,    118. 

Oglethorpe,  Departs  for  England,  119. 

Oglethorpe's  regiment,  66.  Mutiny  in,  73, 
74,  92. 

Oglethorpe's  Cottage  near  Frederica,  93,  94. 

Old  Agency,  the,  241-243. 

Oranges,  wild,  on  Amelia  island,  97. 

Osgood,  Rev.  Mr.,  170. 

Ottolenghe,  Mr.,  28. 

Palmer,  Col.,  85.  Killed  at  Fort  Moosa, 
86-87. 

Parker,  Sir  Hyde,  197. 

Periaguas,  52,  71. 

Peter  and  James,  the  sloop,  52. 

Petersburg.  Its  situation.  234.  Declared 
a  depot  for  the  inspection  and  storage 
of  tobacco,  2:34.  Its  plan,  235-236. 
Legislative  provisions  in  reference 
to,  236.  Sibbald's  account  of,  237. 
Its  dwellings,  stores,  population,  and 
trade,  237.  A  tobacco  town.  238.  Its 
decline,  238. 

Petei-sburg  Union  Society,  2:36. 

Petersburg  Boats,  237-238. 

Peyton,  Sir  Yelverton.  67,  83,  85. 

Pinckney,  Col.  C.  C,  184.  196,  220. 

Pike's  Blutf.  96. 

Point  Quartel,  85. 

Pray,  Capt.,  202. 

Prevost,  Gen.  Augustine,  185,  188.  Cap- 
tures Sunbury,  195-196,  200. 

Prevost,  Lieut.  Col.  Mark,  185,  186-188. 

Price,  Charles,  201. 

Price,  Commodore  Vincent,  80. 

Proprietors  of  the  Town  of  Sunbury,  159- 
169. 

Puritan  element  in  3t.  John's  Parish,  176, 
177. 

Quaker  Spring,  240. 

Quarterman,  Opt.  Robert,  219. 

Qneensbury,  town  of,  245. 

Rabenhorst,  Mr.,  32,  36,  37. 

Rahu,  Jonathan,  37. 

Rattle-snakes,  58. 

Raven,  80, 

Reels,  29. 

Reynolds,  Gov.  John,  visits  Frederica,  127. 
Suggests  new  defenses,  127. 


Reynolds,  Gov.  John,  locates  Hard  wick,  224, 
and  suggests  it  as  the  capital  of  Geor- 
gia. 224-226. 

Riceboro,  made  the  county  seat  of  Liberty 
county,  216-217. 

Kiceboro  Bridge,  affair  at,  186. 

lload  connecting  Frederica  and  the  Sol- 
dier's Fort,  68,  69. 

Road  connecting  Savannah  and  Darien,  55. 

Rodondo,  Major  General  Antonio  de,  102. 

Roman,  Major,  187. 

Rudolph,  Captain,  209. 

Salgrado,  Don  Antonio,  86. 

Sallett,  Robert,  200. 

Salter,  Captain,  196. 

Saltzburgers,  11.  Arrival  in  Georgia,  12. 
Locate  at  Ebenezer,  13.  Desire  a 
change  ot  settlement,  18.  Change  ef- 
fected, 19.  Remove  to  New  Ebenezer, 
20,  etseq. :  Occupations  of,  23.  Char- 
acter of,  24.  Cultivation  of  silk  by, 
25-30.  Settlements  of  in  Georgia,*30- 
31.  Sufferings  of  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  37,  et  seq.  -Removal 
of  to  various  points,  42. 

Sanchio,  Captain,  108. 

Savannah,  evacuated,  204. 

Schnider,  J.  Gotlieb,  37. 

Schnider,  John,  37. 

Schnider,  Jonathan,  37. 

Screven,  General,  186.    Killed,  187,  207. 

Scroggs,  Lieutenant,  108. 

Sea-Point  Battery,  64. 

Sherwood,  Abiel,  218. 

Sibbald,  George,  134,  212,  229,  237. 

Silk  -Culture  in  Georgia,  25-30. 

Skidoway  Island,  248. 

Soldier^s  Fort,  67,  68. 

Spalding,  Mr.  James,  128. 

Spalding,  Hon.  Thomas,  69,  75,  94,  97,  98. 

Spanish  Forces  in  Florida  in  January,  1740, 

82.  In  1742,  102,  103. 

Spencer,  Capt.,  exploit  at  Belfast,  199,  202. 

Springfield,  41. 

Spur,  the,  62. 

St.  Augustine,  its  defenses,  81.    Reinforced, 

83.  Invested  by  Oglethorpe,  83-84. 
Siege  of,  84-88.  Siege  raised,  87-88. 
Causes  of  Oglethorpe's  failure  to  cap- 
ture, 89,  90.  Narrowly  watched  by 
Oglethorpe,  98.  Scarcity  of  food  in, 
98.  Demonstration  of  Oglethorpe  be- 
fore the  harbor  of,   99. 

St.  Augustine.Threatened  by  Oglethorpe,118 
St.  Catherine,  Island  of,  155,  156. 
St.  John.  Parish  of.  148,  149.  171.  172-178. 
19^199.  201. 


262 


INDEX. 


St.  Matthew,  Parish  of,  34,  35. 

St.  Simon,  Island  of;  its  attractions,  57. 
Attack  of  the  Spaniards  upon,  103- 
114. 

St.  Simon,  village  of,  96,  107.  Destroyed  by 
the  Spaniards,  112. 

Stephens,  William,  19,  65.  Visits  Ogle- 
thorpe, 91.  Appointed  Deputy  Gen- 
eral of  Georgia,  119.  His  description 
of  Abercorn,  139.  Owns  and  names 
Bewlie,  250,  251. 

Stevens,  John,  145,  146. 

Stewart,  General  Daniel,  219,  222. 

Stiles,  Captain,  202. 

Stirk.Col.John,  36,  37. 

Stirk,  Secretary  Samuel,  37,  205. 

Strobel,  Kev.  P.  A.,  20,  32,  37,  43,  44, 

Strohaker,  Rudolph,  37. 

Stuart,  Lieutenant,  113. 

Success,  the  ship,  105,  106. 

Sunbury  Academy,  222-216.  Teachers  of, 
215,  216. 

Svinbury  Female  Asylum,  218. 

Sunbury,  Town  of,  its  location,  141-143. 
Conveyance  of  300  acres  of  land  to 
the  Trustees  of,  145.  Signification  of 
the  name  of,  145,  146.  Condition  of 
the  Midway  District  at  the  period  of 
the  settlement  of,  149-154.  Plan  of, 
154.  Declared  a  port  of  entry,  155. 
Emigrants  from  Bermuda  in,  156. 
Commerce  of,  157-158.  Health  of, 
158.  Proprietors  of,  159-169.  Bar- 
tram's  description  of,  169,  170.  Popu- 
lation of,  at  era  of  greatest  prosperity, 

170.  171,     Exports,   and    imports   of, 

171.  Character  of  its  population.  171. 
Its   wharves,   171.      Its   government, 

172.  Rebellious  spirit  of  its  inhabi- 
tants, 175.  Fort  built  at,  178,  179. 
Location,  construction,  and  arma- 
ment of  Fort  Morris,  181-183  Threat- 
ened by  Colonel  Mark  Prevost,  187. 
Invested  by  Lieut.  Col.  Fuser,  189- 
192,  Siege  raised,  192.  Houses  of, 
injured  by  the  garrison,  193.  Its  de- 
pressed condition,  194.  Reduction  of 
Fort  Morris,  195-196.  Captured  by 
Prevost,  195,  196.  Languishes,  202. 
Affair  of  Captain  Howell  at,  203.  In- 
crease of  population,  205,  206,  Chief 
Justice  Walton's  Charge  to  the  Grand 
Jury  in,  206,  207,  Designated  as  the 
point  for  holding  the  Superior  and 
Inferior  Courts  of  Liberty  County, 
208.  Commissioners  appointed  for 
the  port  of,  208. 


Sunbury,  Revival  of  the  trade  of,  208. 
Indian  inciirsions  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of,  208,  Public  acts  for 
the  regulation  of,  210-212.  Descrip- 
tion of,  in  1801,  212.  Sunbury  Acade- 
my,  212-215.  Removal  of  the  public 
buildings  to  Riceboro,  216-217.  De- 
cline and  ill-health  of,  217,  218.  Sher- 
wood's description  of,  218.  Female 
Asylum,  218.  Fort  rebuilt,  218.  Fourth 
of  July  celebrations  in,  220,  221.  Its 
decadence,  221.    Present  condition  of, 

221,  222.     Its  noted  inhabitants,  &c., 

222,  223. 
Sutherland,  Lieutenant,  109. 
Symond,  the  ship,  50. 
Tanneb,  Mr  ,  50. 

Tennill,  Lieutenant,  194. 

Thomas,  Captain,  50,  52. 

Thomjison,  Captain,  105,  106.  His  descrip- 
tion of  Fred  erica  in  1747,  125,  126. 

Thunderbolt,  248. 

Tobacco,  culture  and  inspection  of  in  Geor- 
gia. 234,  235 

Tolson,  Lieutenant.  105. 

Tomo-chi-chi,  48,  50  58,  60.  Death  and 
burial  of,  76,  77. 

Toonahowi  77,  81,  108. 

Treutlen,  John  Adam,  36,  37. 

Triebner,  Rev,  Christopher  F.,  32,  36,  37,  40. 

Trustees  of  Sunbury,  145. 

Tuckasee— King,  41. 

Twiggs,  Colonel,  199. 

Tybee,  Island  of  249. 

Tyrrell,  Captain,  79 

Vandekdussen,  Colonel,  79,  80,  H5,  87,  88. 

Vatt,  Mr.,  15. 

Vernon,  Admiral,  79,  98. 

Vienna,  the  Town  of,  239. 

Von  Reck,  Baron,  12,  15. 

Waldhaukb,  Jacob,  36, 

Waller,  the  Poet,  143. 

Walton.  Hon   George,  20.5-207. 

Ward,  Hon.  John  E.,  222. 

Warren.  Captain,  83,  86. 

Washington,  General  George,  214. 

Wayne,  General  Anthony,  40,  204. 

Wentworth,  General,  103. 

Wesley,  Rev.  Charles,  15. 

Wesley,  Rev.  John,  15.  19,  22. 

West,  Dr.,  222. 

West,  Major  Charles,  178. 

White,  Colonel  John,  186,  187.  His  strata- 
gem, 187. 

Whitefield,  Rev.  George,  66,  115. 

White  House,  affair  at  the,  200. 

Winn,  Captain  John,  219. 


lltDEX. 


S63 


Wormsloe,  plantation  of,  251.    Description       Wright,    Sir    James.   Reports    dilapidated 


of  in  1743,  251-252.  Tabby  Fort  at, 
252.  Present  appearance  of,  253. 
Wright,  Sir  James,  29.  Reports  condition 
of  Fort  Frederick,  128 ;  of  Sunbury, 
157.  Comments  upon  disloyalty  of 
St.  John's  Parish,   176. 


condition  of  the  Forts  on  the  Geor- 
gia coast,  180,  181,  247. 

Young,  Mr.  Thomas,  199. 

ZioN  Church,  25. 

Zittrauer,  Ernest,  37. 

Zubly,  Rev.  Dr.,  174. 


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